
K:--.-i 












« «f . ■ s * 




THE OX^E^JVJBR. 

"All through the hot weeks of the hardest she gleaned, little dreaming 
that she would one dav possess the fullness of that harvest ; and that by 
her union with the rich owner those fields would also be hers." 

Page 118. 



WHEAT 



FROM 



THE FIELDS OF BOAZ. 



BY y 

REV, ARTHUR G. THOMAS. 



^ 




NEW YORK: 

CINCINNATI: ' 

HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. 
1878. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by 

ARTHUR G. THOMAS, 
in the OflBce of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



TO nvr^ST "WIIF'E, 
WHOSE HAND HAS HELPED 

AND 

WHOSE WORDS HAVE ENCOURAGED ME 
IN THEIR PREPARATION, 

THESE PAGES. 

J^. Or. T. 



PREFACE. 



IT has been quoted as a sagacious remark of 
a late distinguished teacher, that he would 
rather see a single copy of a daily newspaper 
of ancient Athens, than read all the com- 
mentaries upon Grecian tragedies that have 
ever been written. 

The reason for this preference is, that in 
reading such a paper, with its news, facts, and 
opinions, we should have a fuller and more 
correct exposition of the every-day life of the 
inhabitants than we could possibly have from 
reading their histor>% or comments on their 
writings. What an insight into the day's 
doings we might obtain, could we read the 
** Memphis Daily Times,'* published the day 
after the departure of the Israelites from Egypt ; 
or the *^ Shushan Register," of the time of 
Ahasuerus; or the ** Jerusalem Inquirer,*' of 
one of the last days in the life of our Lord ! 
Stripped of all fictitious coloring, how the 
various characters of those times would Seem 
to stand before us ! We could almost reach 



6 Preface. 

across the chasm of ages, and grasp their hands 
as in present sympathy with us. 

While the Bible is not designed to be such 
a daily record, it is, nevertheless, the nearest 
approach to it of any writings that have come 
to us from the far past. Its simple idiomatic 
expressions give us the familiar converse of the 
people, while in its various allusions to com- 
mon life to illustrate the truth, we see habits, 
customs, public and private opinions, motives 
and aspirations, all true to life. 

Nor can it be too deeply impressed on the 
mind of the Bible reader that the country 
places and people spoken of were not so much 
unlike those we are accustomed to see. The 
mountains, plains, lakes, and rivers were such 
as are to be found in most countries. 

The people were dependent on the fruit of 
the ground for sustenance ; they plowed, sowed, 
and gathered; they ate and slept; they were 
light-hearted and sad ; they loved their homes, 
their families, their country, just as with us. 
In a word, they were composed of about the 
same quality of clay as that of the reader, the 
same blood coursed through their veins, and 
they possessed the same imperfect nature. 
We lose much of the force of Bible truth by 
failing to study the common life of the people 



Preface. 7 

of Bible times, and especially by failing to give 
to them a real existence. Too often we seem 
to think of them as having belonged to some 
other race, and having dwelt on some other 
sphere, rather than as real men and women, 
who possessed the same natures and passions 
with ourselves, and who lived in the same 
earnest world. 

In the following pages I have had two prom- 
inent objects in view : — 

First, to set forth the every-day life of Bible 
times, more especially as it pertained to the 
pursuits of farming, and thus to dissipate the 
fictitious notions so often entertained of Bible 
scenes and characters. By presenting them as 
having to do with real life, it is hoped that the 
sacred lessons will become more real and per- 
sonal to the Bible reader. 

Secondly, I have endeavored to make 
clearer obscure passages, and especially to call 
attention to the spiritual significance of the 
various allusions to husbandry. In the latter 
my purpose has been only to have the index 
finger point to the diviner lessons, leaving the 
reader himself to fill up the outline. 

The meager thread of history running thro i)gh 
the chapters drawn from the story of Boaz 
and Ruth may serve to intensify the reader*s 



8 Preface. 

interest in studying the habits, customs, and 
scenes referred to. I am aware that, having 
set Boaz before us as the model farmer, I have 
made him a participant in scenes belonging to 
periods different from his own ; but so un- 
changing have been the Bible customs that I 
have occasionally been oblivious of times and 
circumstances. 

In descriptions of scenes and places I have 
drawn somewhat from my personal observa- 
tions and the records of my note-book made 
during a recent journey through the sacred 
land. It would be useless and tiresome to 
the reader for me to cumber the pages with 
references to the numerous works consulted. 
The writers in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible 
have been my chief helps. A. G. T. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter page 

I. The Bethlehemite Farmer i^ 

II. The House of Bread 22 

III. Handfuls Let Fall of Purpose 32 

IV. Preparing the Field 40 

V. Plowing 49 

VI. Seed-Time 59 

VII. The Growing Period 70 

VIII. Harvest Time 87 

IX. The Gleaners 102 

X. Harvest-Home 119 

XI. Threshing and Winnowing 136 

XII. Bushels and Barns 148 

XIII. Tithes and Traffic 160 

XIV. Grinding 171 

XV. Meal, Leaven, and Loaves 184 

XVI. Baking, Ovens, and Bread 198 

XVII. The Preparation for the Bridal Supper. . 210 
XVIII. In the Guest-Chamber 220 

XIX. Around the Festive Board 235 

XX. The Viands of the Feast 245 

XXI. Breaking Bread , , 264 



Jllttstrations. 



PAGE 

Harvest Salutations 17 

Seven-Headed Wheat 23 

Thorns 42 

Thistles 43 

Irrigation 45 

Drav^ing Water 46 

Ancient Sarcle 49 

Plow, Yokes, Goad, etc 51 

Putting the Hand to the Plow 53 

Tandem Plowing 54 

The Sower 63 

The Enemy Sowing Tares 74 

Going up to the Feast 89 

Tares 100 

Vail 108 

Carrying Grain 121 

Treading out the Grain 139 

Threshing 142 

Winnowing 145 

Granaries 155 

Measuring Grain 165 

Wheat of Minnith 168 

Mortar and Pestle 172 

Section of a Millstone 174 

Grinding 178 



Illustrations. ii 

PAGS 

Oven, with Three Loaves 202 

Thorns for the Oven 205 

Wedding Festivities 215 

The Foolish Virgins 217 

Too Late 219 

The Guest-Chamber 222 

Washing Hands Before Meals 225 

Alabaster Vases 230 

Reclining at the Feast 238 

Churning Butter 250 

A Cluster of Grapes 257 

Around the Festive Board 270 



WHEAT FROM THE FIELDS OF BOAZ. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE BETHLEHEMITE FARMER. 

ON the south-eastern slope of the ridge on 
which Bethlehem stands the land drops 
down in patches and terraces for a mile or 
more, to green and fruitful plains. These seem 
the more winning because surrounded by the 
barren crests of the mountains of the Wilder- 
ness and Beth-haccerem. Here, glowing in 
the heat of almost perpetual summer, are gar- 
dens stocked with vines, olives, and figs. The 
grapes and figs have a delicious flavor, that is 
not soon forgotten by the taste. Shepherds 
lead their flocks to the uplands for pasture, 
while the plains produce the best of barley and 
wheat. The Arab farmers call this land the 
Good Earth, just as those who came before 
them called the town on the ridge first EjSh- 
rath,*' Place of Fruit,'' afterward, Bethlehem, 
'' House of Bread." 



14 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

On this green slope David once kept his flock. 
From the gorges of the wilderness, not far dis- 
tant, came the wild beasts against which he 
fought in defense of his sheep. Overlooking 
these plains from the heights of Adullam, 
when a king and a warrior, he longed for a 
drink of water from the well at Bethlehem's 
gate. Here, too, is the scene of that sweet- 
est of all his Psalms, in which he sings of 
'* green pastures '' and '^ still waters." And 
when, greatest of all events, Christ was born 
in Bethlehem, these same terraced hills and 
plains glowed with the heavenly light, and re- 
sounded with the songs of the angelic hosts. 

It suits our purpose to associate with this 
place and these events a farmer who once 
tilled these fields. While we admire in the 
Book of Ruth the gentle, trustful spirit of the 
Moabitish widow, and trace the hand of God in 
her exaltation, we also see in beautiful por- 
traiture the character of Boaz, the Bethlehemite 
farmer. Salmon, his father, was one of the spies 
sent by Joshua to Jericho. Marrying Rahab, 
who had saved his life, there fell to his lot this 
portion on the division of the land. Boaz, com- 
ing into possession of the estate, dwelt in the 
old homestead, which was afterward the birth- 
place of King David. Marrying Ruth, he be- 



The Bethlehemite Farmer. 1 5 

came the father of Obed, and the grandfather 
of Jesse. Thus the son of Salmon lived in the 
second generation after the Israelites entered 
Canaan, and about two hundred and fifty years 
before David's time. There was at this period 
no king in Israel. The government seems to 
have been carried on by patriarchal officers. 
Each city had its elders, and each tribe its 
rulers and princes. It was a period of war and 
tumult. The old possessors of the land were 
slow to yield it to the new-comers. 

Shamgar, Deborah and Gideon each in turn 
led the Israelites to triumph over their ene- 
mies. The disgraceful deed of the Benjamites 
and their deserved punishment occurred when 
Boaz was, perhaps, a youth ; yet his life seems 
to have been remarkably free from the violence 
or vices of his age. The allusions to him in the 
inspired word are brief, but there is much to 
excite our admiration. 

He \Nd.^ persevering in his occupation. Once 
a '^ drought was upon the land and upon the 
mountains, and upon that which the land 
brought forth." It may have been severe, but 
it does not appear that the inhabitants were 
pressed to starvation, for- we read of but ope 
family that left the country. Perhaps men 
began to consider what they should do. Elim- 



1 6 Wheat from the Fields of Boas, 

elech, a relative of Boaz, forgetting that famine 
is one of God's rods for the chastisement of his 
people, soon decides what he will do. Hearing 
of plenty in the land of Moab, he gathers his 
little family together, and hastens thither. He 
does not even stop to think of the moral dan- 
ger to which they will be exposed among an 
idolatrous people, but only sees the fruitful 
fields, and the fair prospects for worldly good. 
Boaz, more frugal and trustful, toils on in the 
fear of God. For one season, and perhaps an- 
other, there may be no rain ; yet he does not 
spend his time in brooding over his disappoint- 
ments, nor does he soon give up, but holds on 
to the heritage left him by his father, trusting 
in that faithful One who promised seed-time 
and harvest. He honors his calling by his per- 
severing efforts in the face of difficulties. 

He was industrious. Though a *' mighty man 
of wealth," and thus not constrained to attend 
to business, he is out in his field, looking after 
his affairs. He would not commit his work 
entirely to uninterested persons, lest by his 
absence he should tempt them to be idle and 
wasteful. Nor would he spend precious time 
in idleness. The days and the hours of his 
life were the gifts of God, and each must be 
accounted for. Doubtless his habits of industry 



The Bethleheniite Farmer, 



17 



were the richest part of his patrimony. He 
might have been a wealthy idler, but would he 
have then been the virtuous and upright man 
that he was ? 

Idleness is one of the most fruitful sources 
of sin. Idle hands and idle minds are ready 
tools for Satan's mischief. Had he been sloth- 
ful in business he' might soon have had no 
fields to harvest and no sheaves to give to the 
needy. 

He was courteous to all. Hear those greet- 
ings in the fields between the rich farmer and 
his laborers. In wealth, reputation, and posi- 




HARVEST SALUTATIONS. 
" The Lord be vrith you." 

tion he may have been far above them ; but 
these are only the accidents of life. His men 
3 



1 8 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

have rights and feelings to be respected. He 
did not try to lord it over them as if they were 
far beneath him. Kind in heart, he shows it 
in his kindly wishes, and receives from them 
like expressions of good-will in return. *' The 
Lord be with you ! '' is his salutation to his men, 
and *^ The Lord bless thee !" is their hearty re- 
sponse. Doubtless such a farmer found in his 
hired help ready hands and willing hearts. 

He was benevolent, God had blessed him 
with fields and an abundance of their products ; 
why should he build greater barns, and hoard 
up all for himself? The Lord's poor were all 
around ; freely as he had received, freely he 
would give. The poor gleaner is not only 
made welcome to glean in his field, but the 
reapers must let fall ^^ handfuls of purpose for 
her.*' 

His kindness was persistent. Naomi, after- 
ward expressing her gratitude, says, ^' Blessed 
be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his 
kindness to the living and to the dead.'' Boaz 
had been a true friend to the family before 
they went to Moab, and, perhaps, while there. 
The dead, Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion, had 
enjoyed his friendship, and now, after the lapse 
of ten or twelve years, the living, Naomi and 
Ruth, are blessed with it. 



The Bethlehemite Farmer. 19 

More than all, Boaz served the living God. 
Neither his wealth nor his duties were allowed 
to draw his heart from God. His rule of 
action was, '^ If riches increase, set not your 
heart upon them/' 

^^ The Lord be with you!" is his devout 
address to his reapers. No cursing is heard in 
his field, but blessings; no profaning of God*s 
name, but prayer. He would recognize God 
as the sole fountain of prosperity and happi- 
ness. To Ruth he says, '^ The Lord rec- 
ompense thy work, and a full reward be given 
thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose 
wings thou art come to trust." The Lord of 
Moses and our fathers, and no less the Lord 
who giveth these sheaves of wheat, ^^ recom- 
pense thee." 

But his piety does not consist merely in 
words. See his fatherly interest in the moral 
welfare of those around him. The fair gleaner 
needs his care and counsel. *^ Hearest thou 
not, my daughter? Go not to glean in an- 
other field, neither go from hence, but abide 
here fast by my maidens. Have I not charged 
the young men that they shall not touch 
thee ? " This courteous and kind mastei; 
shields, with a father's protection, the virtue of 
a helpless stranger, and from a regard to the 



20 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

morals of his men, no less than to hers, he 
thus charges them. 

But is this all ? See his sincerity proven. 
The barley and the wheat harvest are ended, 
and the farmer, according to custom in that 
mild climate, is sleeping on the threshing-floor, 
by his heaps of grain. His sleep is disturbed, 
perhaps by dreams of robbers. 

'* It came to pass at midnight, that the man 
was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a 
woman lay at his feet.'* It was the beautiful 
gleaner whom he had met in the harvest field, 
and concerning whose welfare he had given 
such strict commands. But Avas her virtue any 
the less sacred now? His thoughts were as 
pure as those stars that looked down upon 
them from that midnight sky. Hear him 
speak; ''My daughter, fear not; I will do to 
thee all thou requirest : for all the city doth 
know that thou art a virtuous woman.*' And 
when, on the morrow, he would fulfill the 
promise, yet will he regard God's law. *' It is 
true that I am thy near kinsman : howbeit 
there is a kinsman nearer than I." Much as 
he esteemed the Moabitish stranger for her 
piety and well-known worth of character, yet 
he would not take her for his wife until another, 
who had a prior right, had waived his privilege. 



The Bethlehemite Parmer. ^t 

He will not take his own inclinations for a 
guide to the neglect of God*s word. ** Thy 
testimonies are my delight and my coun- 
selor." 

Verily, Boaz stands before us as the true 
Christian gentleman in every respect — ^/le model 
farmer. With such a companion and in- 
structor shall we not feel a deeper interest as 
we go through his fields to glean the more 
precious sheaves of truth ? 



22 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE HOUSE OF BREAD. 

BETHLEHEM has not always been dis- 
tinguished as the House of Bread. The 
first inhabitants gave much attention to rais- 
ing fruit, as we may infer from the name 
Ephrath, '* Place of Fruit.'' Perhaps the fields 
of Boaz were then planted with figs, olives, and 
grapes. In the time of the patriarchs this 
place, in common with the greater part of 
Palestine, was noted for its pasturage. Abra- 
ham and Jacob, wealthy owners of sheep and 
cattle, dwelt a few miles to the south of 
Bethlehem, and, perhaps, each in turn pitched 
his tents and pastured his flocks on these same 
plains. 

They cared comparatively little about cul- 
tivating the soil. We read of strifes about 
wells, but none about crops. Their wealth 
consisted chiefly in flocks, jewels, and costly 
raiment, things that were movable. Their 
houses were tents, that could be transported 
till water and pasture invited them to halt. 



The House of Bread, 



23 



This migratory life would do as long as Israel 
consisted of but few families. 

But notice some of God*s great plans for 
his people. They were to be a mighty nation, 
local in their attachments, and peculiar in their 
customs and religion; hence their wandering 
habits must cease ; they must dwell in houses ; 
their wealth must consist in land and its prod- 
ucts ; they must be a nation of farmers. 

The rich land of Canaan was a good field 
for such results; 
but Jacob and his 
sons had no abil- 
ity nor taste for 
plowing and sow- 
ing. Egypt was 
well fitted to be 
a school for them. 
There were the 
richest soil, the 
best of wheat, and 
the greatest ad- 
vancement in ag- 
riculture. From 
the most remote 
ages that country 
was the greatest ,,.„^,„, 

^ WHEAT. 

source of supply "seven ears came up upon one stalk." 




24 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

for the jiations. Thither the commerce of the 
world was directed. Athens, Rome, Tyre, and 
Damascus sent to that country their ships and 
caravans, with merchandise and treasures to 
be exchanged for corn. PHny states that 
Egypt sent annually to Rome alone twenty 
millions of bushels. Israel must go to school 
for awhile in such a country to take lessons 
in agriculture, and the lessons must be just 
hard enough to develop the scholar. Hence 
Joseph's servitude in the house of Pharaoh 
and his subsequent exaltation and oversight 
in gathering the seven plenteous harvests ; 
hence the famine driving Jacob and his sons 
hither ; the four hundred years of bondage ; 
the subsequent return ; the possession and 
division of the land and the establishment of 
the nation, prosperous, happy, powerful, and 
yet separate, as God designed. Thus, 

** Though the mills of God grind slowly, they grind exceed- 
ing small ; 
Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness 
grinds he all." 

So apt a learner was the scholar that we find 
his children, immediately after the return, 
talking of fields and landmarks. The whole 
land of Canaan was divided into farms of from 
twenty to twenty-five acres for each family. 



The House of Bread, 25 

Every farmer was the proprietor of his own 
estate, and cultivated it. Literally, ^' every one 
sat under his own vine and fig-tree." It is in- 
teresting to notice that all the allusions of the 
Bible to implements and customs of farming 
correspond with those painted on the tombs of 
the Pharaohs. Nor has there been any change 
in this respect in Palestine, even to this day. 

Thus Boaz, who lived but one or two gen- 
erations after the return of Israel, received his 
lessons in husbandry from Egypt. The im- 
plements he used and the customs that pre- 
vailed in his time were brought by his an- 
cestors from that land. In this way we may 
suppose that his native town was first dis- 
tinguished as Bethlehem, '' House of Bread," 

Palestine soon became a great grain-pro- 
ducing country, and the two staple products 
were wheat and barley. The great promise 
held before the children of Israel was that 
they were to inherit a '^ land of wheat and 
barley," and every farmer hastened to fulfill 
this promise. 

" To be fed with the finest of wheat," and 

'^ of the fat of the kidneys of wheat," were 

terms expressive of the superior quality of the 

grain the land produced. 

Barley is a hardier plant than wheat, grows 
4 



26 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

on lighter and drier soil, is not so sensitive to 
drought, and requires less care to prepare the 
ground. It was used like oats with us, as food 
for horses, (i Kings iv, 28,) and was also baked 
into bread for man. 

It is in the barley field that we first find 
Boaz, and for the time being this grain seems 
to have been the chief food of Ruth and her 
mother-in-law. 

Our Saviour's miracle of feeding the five 
thousand was wrought with the use of the five 
barley loaves procured from the lad. 

'' Seed-time and harvest " are repeatedly 
spoken of as important periods of the year. 
One of the three great annual festivals was 
called '^ the feast of the harvest.*' 

Some of the soil was so rich that it brought 
forth a hundred fold. Th's argues well for its 
fertility, when we consider the rude imple- 
ments used in cultivating it. 

So abundant was the production of the 
country, four generations after Boaz, that 
Solomon was able to supply the wood-cutters 
of Lebanon with twenty thousand measures 
of wheat and twenty thousand measures of bar- 
ley. Perhaps it was the rich harvest of this 
country that made it a prey to the surround- 
ing nations. It seems to have been a '' dia- 



The House of Bread, 2/ 

mond in the desert/' coveted in turn by the 
Assyrians and Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. 
Cleopatra, charmed with the rich plains of the 
Jordan, induced Antony to take them from 
Herod. 

The casual traveler in Palestine sees, with 
few exceptions, bleak and desolate mountains 
and hills, with little vegetation except thorns 
and thistles; a meager and wretched popula- 
tion, dwelling in rudely-constructed mud and 
stone houses. He is, in consequence, apt 
to think of the allusions of the Scriptures to 
its productions as poetic extravagance. " Is 
this the country," he asks, *' described by the 
prophet as the glory of all lands — the land 
of wheat and barley — the land flowing with 
milk and honey?'* And infidel cavilers have 
taken up these facts, and arraigned them against 
Moses, demanding an explanation in behalf of 
his record. It should be remembered that the 
assertions of Scripture were proverbial lan- 
guage, and that the agricultural advantages 
of the land were not spoken of in compar- 
ison with those of other countries. It never, 
perhaps, in its greatest prosperity, could com- 
pare favorably with our best wheat-producing 
districts. Still, its general appearance to-day 
does not confirm the flattering accounts of 



28 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

Scripture. Three principal reasons may be 
given : — 

The destruction of the forests by invading 
armies has contributed much to the desolation 
of the land. The forest of Bethel, the forest 
of Sharon, and the forest from which Kirjath- 
jearim — the city of forests — derived its name, 
with many others spoken of in the Bible, have 
all long since passed away. The trees cut 
down, the scorching rays of the sun would 
penetrate the soil, thus parching it, causing 
fountains and streams to fail, and leaving little 
or no moisture in the earth to attract the rain. 
From the situation of Palestine, also, on the 
borders of the Great Arabian Desert, these ef- 
fects would be more rapid arid more marked 
than in other countries. 

A lack of confidence in the Government, and 
a prevailing spirit of indolence and neglect to 
cultivate the soil, have added much to the de- 
population of the land. There is evidence from 
countless ruins that this small territory must 
have produced enough to sustain millions of 
inhabitants ; and from the remains of terraces 
encircling the hills and mountains we are left 
to infer that all the land was carefully culti- 
vated. Vines and olives, with their rich verd- 
ure and fruit, once covered these hills and 



The House of Bread. 29 

mountains from valley to summit, so that, as 
Job (xxix, 6) expresses it, *' The rocks poured 
out rivers of oil/' At present nothing meets 
the eye but naked rocks and the reflection of 
glaring sunlight — a perfect image of dreariness 
and desolation. 

It is not hard to trace the process of this 
change. The terraces, built of soft limestone, 
are left to crumble and fall down; as fast as 
the rocks decompose the dust is washed off 
by the early rains or blown away by the hot 
winds of the desert. Hence, from neglect, des- 
olation has been, year by year, making its 
work more complete. The spirit of the Gov- 
ernment is calculated to lead the people to 
indolence and neglect. Property is insecure, 
taxation is oppressive, and the rulers lay hold 
of the most productive land for themselves, so 
that it is a common saying among farmers 
there, '^ The more we raise the poorer we 
are." 

Our last is a moral reason. Sin has pre- 
vailed among the people, and thrown its dark 
mantle over the land. This lies at the foun- 
dation of all the causes of Judea's desolation. 
Nor, with the facts before us, need we look 
for a miracle to have produced the change. 
The chosen people withheld their confidence 



30 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

from God, and he gave them over to their own 
bhndness. Undue pride and self-confidence 
paralyzed them, and they became, at last, a 
prey to their enemies ; thus the surrounding 
nations invaded and desolated their fair land. 
Losing confidence in God, they soon had little 
confidence in each other, so that when one 
planted he had little assurance that he would 
reap, or if he gathered the harvest he was 
liable to have it wrested from him by the first 
marauding band that was strong enough to 
overcome him. Thus, as sure as we can trace 
any law in the universe, we can see this law 
of the consequences of sin in national de- 
moralization. 

Restore the divine authority in the hearts 
of the people, and there is no reason to doubt 
that the land will assert its inherent produc- 
tiveness. Stones will be gathered up in waste 
places, terraces will be rebuilt, forests and 
vineyards will crown the hill- tops, streams of 
water will gush forth, the valleys will yield 
wheat and barley, and *^ the wilderness will 
blossom as the rose.*' Even Volney, the skep- 
tic, who has traveled in that land, has ac- 
knowledged that its present unfruitfulness is 
owing more to moral than physical causes. 
It has been demonstrated by recent efforts to 



The House of Bread. 31 

reclaim the land, made in the vicinity of Beth- 
lehem, that it may assert its right to prophetic 
fertility. The plains of Jericho and Sharon 
repay the husbandmen, and prove that Pales- 
tine may, with proper culture, again be ^'the 
garden of the Lord/' 



32 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER III. 

HANDFULS LET FALL OF PURPOSE. 

THERE is a freshness and beauty connect- 
ed with the story of Ruth that gives it an 
undying interest. It is said that Dr. Johnson 
once read it before a company of French liter- 
ary savants, who, after pronouncing upon it 
many eulogies, asked where he had found such 
a gem ? This simple tale of the virtuous and 
trustful girl of Bethlehem had a charm for 
those sated men of the world that could not 
be found in the productions of uninspired 
genius. 

That which gives it such an interest is its 
simple narration of pastoral life ; and coming, 
as it does, just after the wars and iniquities of 
the Gibeonites, it is the more winning for this 
dark setting. It takes us to the wheat fields 
of Boaz — shows us the hot days of April. We 
hear the gladsome shouts of the reapers, see 
the timid gleaners gathering the stray stalks, 
and the rich and courteous husbandman salut- 
ing his men and partaking freely Vvith them of 



Handfuls Let Fall of Purpose, 33 

the harvest fare at the noonday hour. But 
the careful reader of the Bible finds here more 
than a pleasing story. He sees in it God*s 
mind, hand, and grace. It is a part of God's 
great story of man's redemption. Its peaceful 
scene fitly opens the eventful history of Beth- 
lehem, that is to culminate on the birthday 
of the Prince of peace. 

No chapters of the Bible are so full of allu- 
sions to the every-day life of husbandry ; none 
so rich in illustrations of Oriental and Hebrew 
customs; yet none give so clear a display of 
the mind and controlling hand of God as these 
in the Book of Ruth. In reading them we feel 
that we are in God's harvest field, gleaning 
sheaves of precious truth. 

Have you never noticed how in all the reve- 
lations of God to man he has associated the 
common affairs of life with our spiritual good ? 
In his direct communications he would meet 
men in their ordinary occupations, and make 
these an argument to bring them to his serv- 
ice. Moses, attending the flocks of Midian, 
and David, the keeper of his father's sheep, 
are summoned from their daily duties to lead 
and feed God's people. Elisha is called frorp 
his plow into the Lord's husbandry. The wise 

men of the East, accustomed to noticing the 
5 



34 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

stars, have a star to lead them to the Star 
of Bethlehem. To the Samaritan woman at 
the well Christ speaks of the water of life, and 
he makes pitcher, rope, and well the media of 
spiritual truths. The apostles, while mending 
their nets, are called to be fishers of men. 
These are but a few of the many circumstances 
under which God is wont to meet his people, 
and communicate to them his great purpose 
concerning the use he will make of their lives. 

In his teachings he uses pictures drawn from 
every-day life. He points to the analogies be- 
tween nature and its operations, and the king- 
dom of grace, in every thing around them ; in 
the field and its products, and in the occupa- 
tions and relations of men, prophets saw some 
illustrations of the message they had to de- 
liver. The Saviour, in his parables, drew from 
the fields, vineyards, and flowers ; from cattle, 
sheep, and shepherds ; from cities, houses, and 
household affairs, illustrations to enforce spirit- 
ual things and relations. It is worthy of notice 
how large a proportion of these analogies are 
drawn from nature in its connection with hu- 
man labor, especially from the useful and be- 
neficent processes under the work of cultivation. 

As bread is so essential to our welfare, and as 
its production claimed so much of the atten- 



Handfuls Let Pall of Purpose. 35 

tion of the people of Palestine, the symbols of 
the wheat field are the most frequent and forc- 
ible of the inspired word. All through the 
Scriptures, from the dreams of Joseph to Boaz, 
and from Boaz to Christ and Paul, we are 
taught by parables from the field. All the ap- 
pointed laws of God by which the earth is 
made to yield her fruits to man — the subduing 
of the thorns and thistles in the untamed earth, 
plowing, sowing the seed, the long waiting for 
the crop, the mixture of the tares and wheat, 
their careful separation in time of harvest, the 
joy of the reapers, the threshing and storing of 
the precious grain — all the processes, from the 
unprepared soil to the nutritious loaf — are made 
to illustrate the beginning and progress of that 
better husbandry which the Lord is carrying 
on in the kingdom of grace, and which is to be 
consummated at the joyful harvest home of his 
redeemed people. 

Nor were these analogies an after-thought 
of the divine Teacher. He did not, as many 
suppose, choose them from a wide field of illus- 
tration, as the most forcible. The seed pro- 
ducing fruit after its kind did not happen to 
set forth the law of spiritual fruit. Bread did 
not happen to symbolize Christ as the Bread 
of Life. They were all clear to the divine mind 



3^ Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

in the beginning ; and their laws and relations 
were designed by God to be an image of those 
in spiritual life. The earth is God's taber- 
nacle, made after the pattern of things seen on 
the mount. The kingdom of nature and of 
grace have one lawgiver, and the one designer 
operates for one design. ''The invisible things 
of him from the creation of the world are clear- 
ly seen, being understood by the things that 
are made.'* The physical foreshadows the 
spiritual. 

" What if the earth be but a shadow of heaven, 
And things therein each to other like, 
More than on earth is thought ! " 

As the Saviour in his direct teachings did not 
so much utter new truth or prophecies as ex- 
pound and interpret the symbols and utter- 
ances of the old dispensation, so the Spirit 
illuminates nature, the elder scripture, in giv- 
ing us a new revelation. The types and sym- 
bols of the harvest have, in the hand of the 
Spirit, as truly a part in the great plan of re- 
demption as had those in the temple service. 
The divine Spirit, taking us by the hand, leads 
us through the temple of nature, enables us to 
distinguish her many voices, and exclaims, 
*' Here is majesty, here is honor, here is mercy, 
here is duty, here is eternal life." 



Uandfuls Let Fall of Purpose. 37 

This mode of teaching by analogy from ob- 
jects familiar to us is eminently /r^^//^^/. As 
we have to do with two worlds it recognizes 
the relations of the one to the other, and 
makes the one lead to the other. While the 
teaching is from God it is for man — for us 
who dwell on the earth, surrounded by sensu- 
ous objects, having relations and duties in our 
homes, in business, and in the field. 

It points to the life that now Is, that it may 
reveal the glories and solemnities of the life to 
come. The Spirit might have given us merely 
metaphysical exhibitions of the principles of 
religion, thus appealing to the intellect alone ; 
but as we are possessed of reason, feelings, and 
an imagination, the whole man is appealed to. 
Beautifully the lily preaches to us ; joyously 
does the soaring lark teach, and all the pro- 
cesses of the field utter words of heavenly 
wisdom. The truth, thus pleasantly imparted, 
makes the deepest and most lasting impres- 
sion. 

But there is more than simple instruction 
here; there is also the power oi conviction. As 
the mind is dulled in its perceptions, and the 
heart is so perverted that it repels the truth 
by appealing to living realities, conviction, 
like a barbed arrow, finds its way to the heart, 



38 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

and fastens itself there. So clear are the anal- 
ogies between the natural and the spiritual 
world that men feel that He who created the 
seed and established its relations is the Author 
of the soul and its monitions, and that he has 
given to both the same law. Thus the sower 
and the seed, the mingling of the wheat and 
the tares, are lessons fraught with momentous 
truths. 

Such lessons are also best adapted to meet 
the wants of all minds. The learned and 
the unlearned alike feel their force. Said a 
humble woman, little versed in human learn- 
ing, "I like best *the likes' of Scripture." She 
could comprehend and was most instructed 
by those passages that likened truth to a king- 
dom, a house, or a woman with leaven. And 
as the duties, sympathies, and relations of 
common life do not change much with time, 
this mode of instruction has made the Bible 
man's book for all ages and all countries. 

Thus, too, we are brought into closer re- 
lations with God in the business of life, and 
thus forever was man's temporal interest to 
be associated with his spiritual. People very 
often think that their every-day duties sepa- 
rate them from God, and they lament that 
they cannot think enough about sacred things. 



Handfuls Let Fall of Purpose, 39 

But God has so interwoven thoughts of him- 
self with our daily affairs that, if we view them 
in the Hght of his truth, they cannot but bring 
us nearer to him. We are apt to place heaven 
and its blessed ministries too far from us. In 
all the processes of nature God's voice speaks 
to us, " Lo, it is I ! I give to the soil its prop- 
erties, to the seed its development, and to ev- 
ery ripened grain its form and nutritiousness/' 
Let us farm the field at least as well as the 
bees farm it, to gather honey from every flower 
planted by God's hand. The lilies yet grow 
there ; the dew yet falls on the tender blade ; 
the sower yet goes forth to sow ; the grain yet 
ripens for the harvesters ; and over all, and 
present with all, is the divine Teacher, to im- 
press the lessons upon the hearts of those who 
would learn. 

Thus as Boaz, in his kindness, bade his serv- 
ants let fall handfuls of grain for the gleaner, 
so has the great Husbandman instructed his 
servants ; and as Ruth gleaned her sheaves of 
precious grain, so may we, if we possess her 
childlike spirit, glean in God's harvest field the 
handfuls of truth let fall of purpose for us. 



40 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PREPARING THE FIELD. 

IT is summer-time in Holy Land, and over 
all the hills and plains the sun is shedding 
its rich morning light. The fruitful fields pre- 
sent an animated scene. Boaz and his hired 
laborers are out as soon as the sun gilds the 
tops of the distant mountains of Moab. There 
is much hard work to be done before seed-time, 
and they must be at it before the hot rays of 
midday compel them to seek the shade. Wheat 
on his field, as elsewhere, never grew sponta- 
neously ; left to ripen and fall into the ground 
of itself, it would gradually die out. Even in 
Paradise man was to cultivate the ground, and 
had he obeyed his Maker this work would have 
been light and refreshing to body and mind ; 
but sin made his duties arduous; God cursed 
the ground for man's sake, and in the sweat of 
his brow he was to eat his bread. 

Stones were a great barrier to husbandry in 
Palestine. A large proportion of the land con- 
sists of rugged mountains and hills, composed 



Preparing the Field. 41 

of loose limestone rocks, with a light soil. 
In many places the eye rests on vast areas 
of hundreds of acres with nothing but stones. 
Here was work for the laborers of Boaz. Loose 
stones were to be gathered in heaps, or built 
in walls or terraces. The monks have a legend 
of a place near Bethlehem so stony that it 
cannot be cleared. They say that one day the 
farmer was asked what he was sowing, when 
he churlishly answered, '^ Pebbles.'' '' Verily, 
then/' said the Virgin, ^^thou shalt reap as thou 
hast sown." One might suppose, to look at 
the field, that he reaped an abundant crop, 
and that the fruit had developed abundantly 
from the pebbly seed, for huge rocks are all 
that is produced there now. Isaiah (v, 2) tells 
us that the work in the fields began by gath- 
ering out stones and building fences. And by 
this he would illustrate God's care in heart- 
culture. He finds the heart a barren, spiritual 
waste, capable of bearing no good fruit until 
he thus begins the blessed husbandry. 

Thorns and thistles were another obstruc- 
tion. From the beginning these were a part of 
the divine malediction on account of sin ; and 
it seems as if the best wheat-producing lai;id 
bears the most of these. That thorns were 

abundant in ancient times is apparent from 
6 



42 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

the condition of the land to-day, when left 
uncultivated. 




THORNS. 
"Lo ! it was all grown over with thorns." 

The traveler in Palestine is every-where im- 
pressed with this remarkable verification of 
Scripture. The rich plains of Jericho, where 
the palm once flourished and where Herod 
had his pleasure-grounds, is now overgrown 
with brambles and thorns. Along the base of 
Mount Tabor it is necessary for the traveler 
to dismount and pick his way on foot through 



Preparing the Field. 43 

matted briers and thorns. In some parts of 
the fruitful plain of Esdraelon he rides for 
miles through giant thistles, higher than a man 
on horseback. Some writers speak of twenty- 
two different words in the Hebrew denoting 
thorns and thistles. These thorns must be 
cared for, else they will soon overrun the land 




l iliSTLES. 
horns and thistles shall it bring forth." 



and choke the grain. It could never be said 
of Boaz, as Solomon said of one in his day, " I 



44 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

passed by the field of the slothful, and, lo, it 
was all grown over with thorns, and nettles 
had covered the face thereof/' Thorns are 
the Spirit's type of the fruits of sin ; hence 
the prophet says, '* Sow not among thorns.' 
The destruction of them is used to typify the 
utter worthlessness of the wicked, and their 
sudden and complete ruin. Isaiah (xxxiii, 12) 
says, ^* As thorns cut up, shall they be burned 
in fire." Nahum says, *^ While they be folden 
together as thorns they shall be devoured as 
stubble fully dry ; " and Paul compares the con- 
dition of the wicked to that of the ** earth, 
which beareth thorns and briers, which is re- 
jected and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is 
to be burned." 

Preparation for irrigating the soil was also 
to be made before planting. Though Judea, 
in contrast with Egypt, was not to be a land 
to be ** watered by the foot, but of hills and of 
valleys drinking in the dews and rains of 
heaven," yet we have reason to believe that 
the inhabitants used, to some extent, the 
mountain streams for irrigation. The advan-' 
tage of doing so would be found in the long 
rainless period of the summer months, and the 
many seasons of unusual drought. Solomon 
built the immense pools that exist to this 



Preparing the Field, 



45 



day a few miles south of Bethlehem, partly to 
furnish water for his pleasure grounds, located 
in the valley of Etam, and partly to supply 
Jerusalem. It is interesting to notice that 
the aqueduct to convey the water from these 
reservoirs to the royal city is still to be traced 
over the plains south-east of Bethlehem. 
What the king, with his vast resources, could 




^^^'•■■« 



IRRIGATION-. 
"Thou wateredst it with thy foot.'* 



accompHsh, Boaz, doubtless, did for his fields 
on a more limited scale. 



46 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

The process of irrigation was borrowed from 
Egypt. One mode consisted in raising the 
water to a proper elevation by means of the 
sackiyeh^ an old-fashioned we'1-sweep. An- 




"He shall pour the water out of his buckets. 

other consisted of a series of reservoirs, built 
one above the other, which were supplied by a 
spring. Below these the fields were prepared 
like a number of immense salt-pans, with a 
slight depression toward the center. These 
were furrowed into little rimmed sluices, like 
the " walls of Troy,'' to carry the rills over the 
entire field. During the dry season the head 
gates were opened, and the water was conveyed 
in small canals to the required locality. If 
the rich owner had a greater supply than he 
needed, he hired it to his neighbors. (Num. 
XX, 19; Lam. v, 4.) The privilege of using 
the water was paid for according to the quan- 



Preparing the Field, 47 

tity, estimated by the volume of the current 
and the number of hours during which it was 
allowed to run. 

When one portion of a field did not receive 
its supply, the farmer turned up the earth with 
his foot, which opened a channel in the re- 
quired direction. This illustrates the allusion 
(Deut. xi, 10) to watering the land with the 
foot. The fields thus arranged would be 
covered during the rainy season with pools of 
water. Sometimes the seed was sown broad- 
cast upon the water without previous plowing, 
and, falling into the rich mud, sprang up as 
evaporation proceeded. The process was 
familiar to Solomon, who founded on it his 
exhortation to beneficence, *^ Cast thy bread 
upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after 
many days.'* A little later it was sown in the 
muddy soil and trodden in by cattle, which was 
Isaiah's sowing'^ beside all waters." 

Eyiriching the soil by manure was another 
part of the work of preparation. This is par- 
ticularly referred to in the parable of the 
barren fig-tree. Salt was also used for this 
purpose, as we learn from the Saviour's al- 
lusion to the Christian. (Luke xiv, 35.) But 
if salt was applied to the soil in too great a 
quantity it would produce sterility. Hence 



4^ Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

the custom of sowing the foundations of a 
ruined city with salt, as a token of its irre- 
trievable ruin. (Judges ix, 45.) 

Terraces were also to be built, in some cases 
far up on the mountain sides, to support the 
rich mold ; and very often the plot of ground 
had literally to be made by carrying up the 
soil on men*s backs, and placing it on the bare 
rocks. Evidence of this extreme care to 
cultivate every foot of the land is every-where 
seen in Judea, even in the wild and remote 
districts. So that now, where only the wild 
goat wanders and the eagle builds her nest, 
fertile fields and patches were once waving 
with corn. Such they must have been when 
David sang of God's bounty. '' Thou waterest 
the ridges abundantly, and the little hills rejoice 
on every side ; the valleys, also, are covered 
with corn ; they shout for joy, they also sing." 

Such work in preparing the soil must have 
claimed the attention of Boaz. To assist him 
he would have great need of sending to the 
market-place to hire laborers. Toiling thus 
in the hot Syrian sun during the long days of 
summer, we might have more sympathy for the 
servant whose ^' eye was upon his master,'* or 
for him who watched for the lengthening shad- 
ow that was to mark the time for repose. 



Plowing. 



49 



CHAPTER V. 

PLOWING. 

THE history of the plow would be a very 
interesting topic. One of the most in- 
structive departments in the World's Ex- 
position at Paris in 1867 was a collection of 
the plows of all nations and all times. There 




SARCLE. 



you might see the rude implements of Sierra 
Leone and South Africa, or you might trace 
the history of the plow from the ancient sarcle 



^O Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

of Egypt to the latest improved plow of 
England or America. These did not seem to 
attract as much attention from the crowned 
heads as the improved rifles and Armstrong 
guns ; yet of how much greater importance is 
the plow than the mightiest weapon of war 
that was ever invented ! Considering how 
much the welfare and independence of man- 
kind are dependent on this implement, it is 
astonishing to notice that the great improve- 
ment of the iron plow belongs to America, 
and dates back only about fifty years from the 
present time. 

It is generally believed that as Nimrod was 
the father of hunting, and thus invented bows 
and arrows, and as Jubal was the father of 
music, and thus invented the pipe and harp, 
so Noah was the father of farming, and in- 
vented better implements for cultivating the 
soil than were known before his time. He 
is called in the Bible a ** husbandman,*' or, 
literally, '^ a man of the ground.** He, doubt- 
less, contrived the plow that was used in Egypt 
in the time of the Pharaohs, and Egypt fur- 
nished the pattern for Boaz. 

From the representations on the tombs at 
Thebes we may know exactly its construction. 
Take a slender piece of unhewn timber, about 



Plowing, 5 1 

ten or twelve feet long ; to this lash, with a 
piece of leather, a rope, or green withe, a cross- 
piece sharpened at one end, about five feet in 
length, this forming an acute angle with the 
first. The sharpened end constituted the part 
that tore up the soil ; the other end, incHning 
toward the driver, was the handle. The long 
part to which the cross-piece was tied was the 
beam, which extended to the yoke of the 
cattle. Som^e- 
times a branch ^^^^^^' 
of a tree was 
used, one part 
of which served 
as a handle, 

1*BBBB 1 II I I ■ ■ .- 

and, COntinU- a, Plow. 5, Yokes. c, Goad. d. Points. 

ing with a crook, served also for a beam ; the 
other, branching . down, formed the plow- 
share. Perhaps Boaz made some improve- 
ment on this, for after his age (i Sam. xiii, 20) 
it is noticed that the sharpened end was 
pointed and plated with a thin piece of iron, 
which served for what we now call the plow- 
share. 

This rude affair, then, was the plow of the 
Bethlehemite farmer. It was, doubtless, the 
best he knew of. And such have been the 
only kind used in Egypt and Palestine from 




52 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

that day to the present. You often see in 
those countries a farmer going to his work in 
the morning, or coming home, at night with 
such a plow on his shoulder. He never leaves 
it in the field, lest it may be stolen. Of course, 
with such a rude implement they cannot turn 
up such broad furrows as we, but only scratch 
a little on the surface. 

The thin share of the plow of Boaz, in shape 
like an arrow, so much resembled the short 
sword used by ancient warriors, that it could 
with little trouble be converted into that de- 
structive weapon. Hence when Joel (iii, lo) 
with prophetic voice called the nations to 
battle from the peaceful pursuits of the field, 
he said, "" Beat your plowshares into swords, 
and your pruning-hooks into spears.'' And 
when Isaiah speaks of the universal and lasting 
peace that is to be brought about by the reign 
of Christ in the latter days, he reverses the 
same beautiful image : *' And they shall beat 
their swords into plowshares, and their spears 
into pruning-hooks." 

The construction of this plow suggested the 
proverb used by Christ, (Luke ix, 62 :) " No 
man having put his hand to the plow, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven.*' 
Why not say '' hands ? " Had the plow been 



Plowing, 



53 




made like ours, with two handles, it would have 
been hands ; but only one hand was needed, 
for there was only one handle. As the soil was 
loose and 
stony and 
the Hght^ 
plow merely^ 
skimmed' 
over the sur- 
face it was PUTTING THE HAND TO THE PLOW. 

the more necessary for the plowman to keep his 
eye and his hand constantly at his business, to 
insure a proper depth and a regular furrow. 
Hence the force of the allusion to Christian life. 
The calling of the Christian requires vigilance, 
singleness of aim, and decision, in soul-culture. 
The careless plowman gazing about the field 
is a fit emblem of too many who in the differ- 
ent departments of Christian work profess to 
be engaged in the Lord's husbandry. A 
thousand years before Christ, Hesiod, a Greek 
poet, used language very similar to that of our 
Lord, though, of course, with a different ap- 
plication. " Let the plowman/' said he, *' attend 
to his charge and look before him, not turn 
aside to look on his associates, but make 
straight furrows, and have his mind attentive 
on his work.*' 



54 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

The plow was usually drawn by oxen, 
though sometimes by a camel and an ass or a 
heifer. The use of the heifer for plowing is 
at least as ancient as the time of Samson. 
(Judges xiv, i8.) Elijah found Elisha in the 
field plowing with twelve yoke of oxen. This 
was not a team of twelve yoke — it would 
hardly require so many to drag one little Syr- 
ian plow — but twelve separate teams, plowing 
one after the other. Frequently the traveler 
in Palestine sees six and seven yoke of oxen 
plowing in the same field. This is partly for 
mutual protection, but more especially that a 
sufficient area of land may be plowed in one 
day. With their slender plows it is necessary 
to go over the same ground from four to 
six times before sowing. Often three or four 
plows follow each other in the same furrow, 
each going deeper in the soil. Then, too, it 




PLOWING WITH TWELVE YOKE OF OXEN. 

was desirable for proper moisture to sow each 
day the amount of land plowed during that 



Plowiyig. 55 

day. (Isaiah xxviii, 24.) This may account for 
the number of teams in Elisha*s field. Ac- 
cording to the estimate of a day's plowing in 
I Sam. xiv, 14, even twelve yoke could prepare 
only for sowing in one day six acres. 

The time for plowing was dependent on the 
early rain, which usually begins about the first 
of November. As there was no rain for six 
months previous to that time the ground be- 
came dry and baked. The first showers of 
autumn are anxiously looked for ; and as soon 
as the soil drinks in the rain the farmer is out 
with his plow. Our prudent farmer, doubt- 
less, allowed no time to be wasted when the 
proper period came. With their frail imple- 
ments they must wait until the ground is suffi- 
ciently saturated and moistened, and even then 
they cannot plow more than half an acre per 
day. Thus the plowing frequently drags along 
for months, and not unfrequently you will find 
it going on when the bleak winds and rain of 
midwinter would seem sufficient to repel even 
the thrifty farmer. There were some slothful 
fellows in the days of Solomon, and he had 
his eye on them. He says, " The sluggard will 
not plow by reason of the cold,*' or winter, 
as in the margin ; '' therefore shall he beg in 
harvest and have nothing." 



56 Wheat from the Fields of Boa2. 

Two prophets speak of ^' fallow ground/* 
Every farmer knows that this refers to ground 
that has been left for a time without cultiva- 
tion. According to the divine command the 
ground was to rest every seventh and every 
fiftieth year. In all Palestine no plow was to 
stir the soil, and no seed was to be sown dur- 
ing those periods. For other reasons, too, fields 
were often left without being sown for a longer 
or shorter time. During these seasons the 
ground became baked, cattle formed many a 
pathway over it, or it was soon overrun with 
thorns and noxious weeds. This fallow ground 
must have especial care before the seed is 
sown. The work in such a field was familiar 
to the prophet, who says, ^* Break up your fal- 
low ground, and sow not among thorns.'' 

Plowing suggests many close analogies in 
spiritual husbandry. The one just alluded to 
is full of meaning. The natural heart left to 
follow its own inclinations is incapable of pro- 
ducing good fruit. Without culture, it is like 
a common left open to every form of evil. 
Such soil produces only noxious fruits ; the 
good seed of the kingdom cannot ripen on it. 
As in the natural, so in the spiritual, the first 
process is to break up the ground. One ob- 
ject of plowing is to invert the soil, that it 



Plowing. 57 

may be exposed to light and air ; so in heart 
culture we must see the wickedness of the 
heart ; our inner selves must be revealed to our- 
selves. Hence the prophet says, *^ Let us 
search and try our ways, and turn again unto 
the Lord." And this searching must be done 
in the light of the divine Spirit. The Gospel 
becomes a plow, and when rightly used it 
makes deep furrows, and lays open the inner 
wickedness. 

Plowing breaks up and mellows hard ground ; 
so repentance for sin is necessary to bring the 
spirit in a proper feeling and relation to God. 
Hence in spiritual husbandry God makes much 
of a " broken and contrite heart ; " such a heart 
he will not despise. '^ He is nigh unto " such a 
one ; dwells with it. So in the soil of the 
heart there are evil principles and matted roots 
of error to be eradicated. As some weeds 
send their roots very deep, and thus require 
deep plowing, so the fibers of sin go very deep, 
and often bear fruit years after we thought 
they had been completely subdued. Hence 
there can be no danger of being too thorough. 

The careless farmer plows merely upon the 
surface ; so, too, many in spiritual life are satis- 
fied with mere surface work. Hence the fruit 

so often apparent — a stinted soul and a world- 
8 



58 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

ly spirit. The old saints were accustomed to 
plow very deep. David says, " Against thee 
only have I sinned, and done this wickedness 
in thy sight/' and in this connection he speaks 
of broken bones : " My bones also hast thou 
broken/' He was utterly cast down in view 
of his sin. A prophet with trembling lips says, 
**Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am 
a man of unclean lips.'' Such deep plowing 
mellows the heart, and when the good seed is 
sown there, good fruit is the result. 




Seed -Time. 59 



•CHAPTER VI. 

SEED-TIME. 

EVEN though Boaz may have had but the 
Pentateuch through which to interpret 
the lessons of his caUing, his every-day Hfe 
must have been to him full of illustrations of 
God's presence and dealings. Sowing, though 
we may have seen it again and again, is a won- 
derful process. Let us go with the inspired 
writers to the fields of Boaz during seed-time, 
for lessons from these duties of husbandry. 

The hours of the sowing period must not be 
wasted ; perhaps there is only a brief interval 
between the showers and the sowing, during 
which the most important link in the harvest- 
chain must be completed. The time to com- 
mence depends on the beginning of the rainy 
season. After the first of April for six months 
there is no rain in Palestine. The first showers 
of autumn, commencing about the first of No- 
vember, were called '*the early rain." It usu- 
ally rains at this period at intervals of but 
few days. From the last of November to the 



6o Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

middle of January the rain falls more copious- 
ly and continuously, precluding, to a great ex- 
tent, out-door work. During six weeks from 
the middle of February it rains again at inter- 
vals ; this was called ^' the latter rain,'* which 
forwarded and refreshed the green blades of 
the early sowing. This ^^ latter rain " is not 
noticed now by the traveler as so marked a 
period as in Old Testament times. It is highly 
probable that it has been withholden in ac- 
cordance with the divine malediction against 
the sin of Israel : ^* Therefore the showers have 
been withholden, and there hath been no lat- 
ter rain.*' Jer. iii, 3. 

Soon as the '' early rain '* moistened the earth 
the farmer would embrace the opportunity to 
plow and sow. Every hour of sunshine must 
be thus employed, for the amount of rain that 
fell was very uncertain, and if the time was al- 
lowed to pass unimproved it would be fatal to 
the harvest. On the uncertainty of the weather 
during the period of the early rain Solomon 
founded his exhortation to faithfulness in ev- 
ery-day duties. *'^He that observeth the wind 
shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds 
shall not reap. In the morning sow thy seed, 
and in the evening withhold not thy hand ; for 
thou knowest not whether shall prosper this or 



Seed- Time. 6l 

that, or whether they both shall be alike good/' 
The thought is, as in husbandry so in Christian 
duty, don't be deterred by the winds or clouds, 
but sow early and sow late as God gives you 
opportunity, remembering that he only can 
give the increase. 

Boaz knew of the Mosaic law (Lev. xix, 19 ; 
Deiit. xxii, 9) forbidding to sow mixed seed of 
different kinds of grain in the same field. This 
was designed to impress men's minds with the 
great lesson of purity. For the same reason 
a distinction was made between wet and dry 
seed that had been in contact with a corpse. 
(Lev. xi, 37, 38.) Mere contact did not render 
it impure. "But if any water be put upon the 
seed, and any part of their carcass fall thereon, 
it shall be unclean." From this allusion, too, 
we may infer that the seed was sometimes 
steeped in water before sowing. 

The quality of the seed sown was important. 
Experience taught that the best seed, other 
things being equal, produced the best crop. 
This principle was recognized in our Saviour's 
timCj as we may infer from the parable of the 
sower. The farmer's family may have an in- 
ferior quality for food, but the'y will cheer- 
fully endure it, that the choicest seed may be 
reserved for sowing. The last year's crop may 



62 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

have been mixed with darnel, but it is care- 
fully separated from the good seed, for if darnel 
grows among the wheat again, it will be be- 
cause an enemy has sown it. And if there is 
not enough in his own barn, or if it is not of 
the best quality, the farmer hesitates not to 
send to a distant market and buy at any price, 
that he may have the best to plant. 

This careful selection of the good seed sets 
forth the care of the great Husbandman in 
giving us his word as the good seed of the 
kingdom. Surely no other truth has so good 
a claim to the title. It is the word that ''shall 
not return void,'* that is ''not bound ; *' the 
"incorruptible seed'' that "endureth forever," 
given by God for man's regeneration. It pro- 
duces fruit that grows from no other source. 
Error, the opposite of truth, has never made 
man holy; truth has. God has wrapped up in 
his word germs — seed-thoughts — which, when 
received in the heart and watered by the Spirit, 
produce the fruits of the Spirit. Among the 
many are these: "Ye must be born again;" 
" God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life ; " " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." 



Seed- Time. 



63 



But we must always remember that the 
truth of itself does not accomplish the desired 
results, but the Christ that is in the truth. He 
is the Seed as well as the Sower, just as he is 
the Physician as well as the Balm of Gilead. 
The truth is the brown husk ; Christ is the 
germ wrapped within the husk, that alone 
gives it vitality. Such seed is adapted to all 
conditions and all localities. As wheat grows 
wherever man is found, so this '^ Good Seed *' 
produces its good fruit wherever there is a 
human soul wrapped within a human body. 
Its harvests have been reaped amid the ice- 
bound fields of Lapland and the burning sands 
of South Africa. l^S^-^^-^^^ 

It will interest 
us to notice that 
the farmer to-day j^^% 
scatters his seed ^BS^ 
just as Boaz did, ^^K 
and as they did '^^JI^^ 
hundreds of years 
before and since 
his time. The 
Egyptian paintings 

prove this. The " BehoW, a sower went forth to sow." 

vessel or basket containing the grain was held 
in the left hand, while with the right the sower 




64 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

scattered the seed broadcast. In Psalm cxxvi, 
6, we read of his going forth *^ bearing " — 
literally drawing out — ''precious seed!'' an 
allusion to the manner of taking out the hand- 
ful from the basket. 

In the parable of the sower the same man- 
ner is implied. The farmer with his basket or 
sack of grain is advancing with measured steps, 
keeping time with his feet, that he may dis- 
tribute the seeds equally over the field. As 
he advances some falls at the edges of the 
field among the thorny hedges, some on the 
loose shelving rocks where there is little or no 
soil, some on the pathway made across the 
field, and some on the plowed and moistened 
soil. '' Behold, a sower went forth to sow.'' 
Why did our Lord call attention to this famil- 
iar sight, but to point us to something un- 
speakably more beautiful and important ? *' Be- 
hold a sower; " look intently at him ; perhaps 
before thee, reader, is the mirror of thy work. 
Christ, himself the great husbandman, came 
forth from heaven to scatter the good seed, 
and every one of his followers, imbued with 
his spirit, is also a sower. He must scatter 
the good seed in the soil of his own heart, 
broken up by furrows of repentance ; and in 
the field of the world he must sow it, though 



Seed- Time, 65 

no tender blade nor promise of a harvest soon 
appears. 

" Broad cast thy seed ! 
Although some portion may be found 
To fall on uncongenial ground, 
Be not discouraged ; some will find 
Congenial soil and gentle wind — 
Refreshing dew and ripening shower 
To bring it into beauteous flower, 
From flower to fniit to glad thine eyes, 
And fill thy soul with sweet surprise. 
Do good, and God will bless thy deed. 
Broad cast thy seed ! " ^ 

^* Behold/' even so went forth the great Sow- 
er. Many contingencies are to be taken into 
account before the harvest is sure. The sower 
may have wandered far from his fields ; the 
hand that sowed may rest from its labors long 
before the reaping time ; the weak and fickle 
Government renders it uncertain that he who 
plants shall gather the harvest. It may be 
carried off by the first robber band that is 
strong enough to overpower the farmer. This 
insecurity seems to have characterized the gov- 
ernment of Palestine in all ages. In Lev. 
xxvi, 16 we read, '^ Ye shall sow your seed in 
vain, for your enemies shall eat it." Boaz 
must sleep on his threshing-floor by his heaps 
of grain to watch it against robbers. 

This uncertainty gave rise to a proverb 



(^ Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

which the Saviour appropriated to illustrate a 
law in the kingdom : " Herein is that saying 
true, One soweth and another reapeth/' Not 
every one who plants reaps the anticipated 
success in his service. God's plans have often 
a wider range than the life-time of one man. 
We are but links in the chain, sometimes ex- 
tending through many generations. Besides, 
God is sovereign ; if the reaping always came 
soon we might forget that to him belonged 
the increase ; very often we need disappoint- 
ments before we are ready to say, ^* By the 
grace of God I am what I am ; *' ^^ To God be- 
longeth the increase." 

Sowing is usually attended with much anx- 
iety of mind. It may have been a season of 
great scarcity, so that scattering the seed may 
be like taking the bread from the mouths of 
the children. Sometimes the famine is so se- 
vere in Palestine that the Government must 
provide seed, or none would be planted. 

The work is also difficult ; the soil is thorny, 
or rocky, or hard to break up. There are ene- 
mies, too, prowling about, like the Sabeans who 
fell upon Job's servants. Thus with poverty 
and want, with hard labor in cold and heat, 
in fear and danger, would it be strange if 
the anxiety would be akin to weeping as the 



Seed- Time. 67 

sower goes forth bearing precious seed ? And 
IS not all true success preceded by self-denying 
toil and hardships? Look where we will in 
this earnest world, we will find that the real 
kings among men are those whose foreheads 
were first crowned with drops of sweat. 

Often, too, after the most faithful plowing 
and careful sowing, there may be much to 
cloud the reaper*s joy because of stinted crops. 
But here is the guarantee for ultimate success ; 
God's word is pledged for the spiritual harvest. 
V* He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless come again with 
rejoicing, bringing ' his sheaves with him.'* 
There is a divine s/ia// concerning the sowing 
of the good seed of the kingdom that renders 
the harvest infallibly certain. 

The Bible makes frequent reference to the 
seed and its growth to illustrate the law of 
character and its development. As it is a law 
that every plant shall yield after its kind, so 
in moral character, ''Whatsoever a man sow- 
eth that shall he also reap." If we would have 
a conscience void of offense — a life approved 
of God — we must sow the good seed. "To 
him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure 
reward." The reward follows righteousness as 
sure as fruit follows the seed. But a harvest 



68 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

of bitterness and woe must inevitably come 
from every germ of sin. Those who sow to 
the wind of vanity shall reap the whirlwind 
of wrath. It is a terrible thing to be thus 
sowing ; to be drifting along in life, slighting 
opportunities, and careless of obligations and 
mercies. Surely, such '' shall beg in harvest 
and have nothing." 

Many, too, cultivate wickedness ; they plant 
and nourish it in the heart, where no human 
power can erradicate it, and they sow it in so- 
ciety, to grow in the hearts of others. The 
seed may soon be out of sight — forgotten — no 
fruits apparent ; the sower dies ; but the ruin- 
ous harvest is inevitable, and the sower must 
reap it, for '' They that plow iniquity and sow 
wickedness reap the same." The evil is redu- 
plicated manifold, and unless God interposes 
it will go on reproducing its bitter fruits eter- 
nally. There is a vast amount of self-deception 
practiced here. Men are not so foolish as to 
sow sawdust, or even thistles, and expect to 
reap wheat ; but they seem to think that in 
spiritual husbandry the harvest will be all right, 
no matter what the sowing has been. Nor is 
it left for a man to decide whether he shall sow 
or not. By a necessity he is always sowing, 
either tares or wheat ; what he shall sow is the 



Seed' Time, 69 

all-important question of this the seed-time, 
because of its relation to the harvest. 

" We can never be too careful, 

What the seed our hands shall sow ; 
Love from love is sure to ripen, 

Hate from hate is sure to grow. 
Seeds of good or ill we scatter 

Heedlessly along our way ; 
But a glad or grievous fruitage 

Waits us at the harvest day. 
Whatsoe'er our sowing be, 
Reaping, we its fruits must see.** 



70 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE GROWING PERIOD. 

^^ 'T^HERE is a time to plant, and a time to 
JL pluck up that which is planted/' Be- 
tween the sowing and the reaping there was 
usually a period of about five months; this 
varied with the weather and the location. It 
was a time of great solicitude to the farmer. 
He watched with intense interest the clouds 
and sunshine that were to bless or blight the 
fruit of his toil. *^ Behold, the husbandman 
waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and 
hath long patience for it, until he receive the 
early and the latter rain.'* There were many 
opposing influences that often brought sorrow 
to his heart before the reaping time came. 

The laborers of Boaz have drawn the last 
furrow, and scattered the last handful of seed. 
In due time the windows of heaven are opened, 
and the earth drinks in the early rain. Let us 
look over his field, and see what signs of a har- 
vest appear. The land is not fenced off, as 
with us, but tilled in patches, (Ruth ii, 3,) so 



Thl Growing Period. J\ 

that the word field embraced a man's whole 
farm. (Jer. xxxii, 9; Prov. xxxi, 16.) The sep- 
arate farms were marked off by stones which 
might easily be removed, but which, when once 
placed, were kept inviolable as landmarks. A 
foot-path commonly ran along the edge of the 
farm, and many ran across it in various ways. 
Yonder is one leading to a distant fountain ; 
here another, over which the shepherd leads his 
flock to the mountains for pasture ; and there 
are several nearly parallel made by the traffick- 
ers going to and from the city. Every-where 
the field is green with the tender blades, ex- 
cept in the pathways. Here the hard-beaten 
soil is unbroken by the plow, and the seed lies 
unburied, so that the fowls of the air gather it 
up. No promise of a harvest in the pathways. 
But you say, *^ The rest of the field is green and 
will repay the sower." Wait a little while, and 
you will see. A healthful stalk of wheat must 
have a sufficient depth of loose, rich soil to al- 
low its roots to penetrate and draw nourish- 
ment from within. Yonder, on the hill-side, 
are patches that look yellow and sickly. Pull 
up a few stalks here, and you will find there is 
no depth of earth for the roots. Under th/s 
apparent soil is the loose, shelving rock, un- 
moistened by the dews of heaven, unpenetrated 



72 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

by the genial rains ; and as the tender roots 
shoot downward they are driven back. The 
warm rock beneath may have even hastened 
vegetation for the time, but it retained no sup- 
ply of moisture, and, as the hot rays came, the 
stalk turned pale, and must soon wither and 
die. No promise of a harvest on the stony 
ground. 

Yonder, in another part of the field, the soil 
is deep, and so rich that it seems capable of 
bearing two kinds of fruit at the same time. 
The wheat here looks fair, but a crop of thorns 
is growing up with it. Alas ! that the best 
wheat-producing soil should be so prolific in 
the production of these pests of the farmer. 
But perhaps the man who plowed was only 
an eye-servant. The surface of the land was 
merely skimmed over ; only the stems of the 
thorns were cut off; the noxious roots were 
left firmly imbedded, and soon their rank 
growth will acquire an easy mastery over 
the growing grain and choke it. The great 
Husbandman was familiar with such fields. 
Let him point out like features on the human 
landscape. Possibly he may say to you, reader, 
** Thou art the man.*' Your heart may be a 
reflection of some one of these diverse soils. 

The growth of tares was also a source of 



The Growhig Period, 73 

disappointment to the Bethlehemite farmer. 
The word is generally supposed to refer to a 
species of grass called by the Arabs zouan, but 
commonly known by the English name of dar- 
nel. It grows and ripens with the wheat, and 
very much resembles it, though its blades are 
rougher, and its grains smaller. If the seeds 
are mixed with the grain in grinding, it pro- 
duces a sickening and even dangerous effect 
on those who eat the bread. Shubert, in his 
Natural History, says: '* This is the only poi- 
sonous grass known ; " and Dr. Arnot suggests 
that this may be the reason why our Lord se- 
lected it as the symbol of Satan's evil doings. 

A popular opinion has long prevailed that 
tares are only degenerated wheat. The Arab 
farmers will tell you that after the most care- 
ful selection of good seed, if the season is un- 
usually rainy, the wheat will be changed into 
tares. But may not the seeds of some former 
season have lain dormant in that soil, or may 
they not have been carried there from some 
neighboring threshing-floor by wind, fowls, and 
insects ? Thus while the rain is fatal to the 
wheat, it may be productive of tares. At any 
rate, the idea of degenerated wheat is not in 
accordance with facts or with God's word. 

What degeneration has been noticed in other 
10 



74 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

plants has been simply a gradual return by- 
neglect to what they were before they received 
the culture of man. But wheat, unlike the 
apple, potato, and many other products, never 
grew wild. It was as perfect when God first 
gave it to man as it is to-day : hence it has no 
wild state to resume, much less could it de- 
generate into a lower species, and that, too, 
in one season. But God's word ought to be 
final on this question. It distinctly says that 
an enemy sowed tares, and that from these grew 
a crop of tares. 




THE ENEMY SOWINa TARES. 



" An enemy hath done this ; '' and Boaz 
may have had such an enemy. His very 



The Growing Period. 75 

success may have instigated some one to do 
him an injury through envy. The outlines of 
the picture are dark enough ! The farmer, 
having been at great pains to sow his field with 
good seed, wipes the sweat from his brow, and 
goes home, hoping that, by the blessing of 
God, he will be rewarded with an abundant 
harvest. But yonder, creeping around the 
brow of the hill, is a malicious wretch, who 
has been watching the work. At night, while 
the farmer is taking his repose, this one steals 
forth to the newly sown field, and sows over 
it the noxious tares. No watchman on the 
tower sees him to tell the owner. The injury 
done, he goes home to gloat over his malicious 
act for months, before the results are apparent. 
Such infamous misdeeds were common in the 
days of our Lord, else he would not have 
alluded to them to meet the experience of his 
hearers. 

Some traces of this species of crime have 
been observed in India. Would that the 
spirit of such an act belonged only to remote 
ages, and to the dark places of the earth ! The 
great enemy is yet busy ; all over our own 
land he is scattering the hateful tares. Wher^ 
ever the good seed of the kingdom is likely to 
take root he is most diligent to sow the seeds 



"]() Wheat] from the Fields of Boaz, 

of evil. The mingling of the false with the 
true religion is Satan's great means of strength- 
ening his kingdom ; and as in the growing 
period the tares are similar to the wheat, so 
has Satan been most successful in ruining 
souls by insinuating falsehood with truth. 

In the discovery of the tares the first impulse 
of the servant was to weed them out, but ex- 
perience had taught that it was best for both 
to grow together until the harvest. The 
roots and branches of the false were so inter- 
woven with the true that to destroy the one 
would injure the other. And thus the two 
stalks grow together ; the sun shines on both, 
the rain falls on both, each draws its nourish- 
ment from the same soil ; as one shoots 
out its branches, so does the other. Impress- 
ive symbol of the condition of souls, true and 
false, advancing in character together ! There 
are many who are positively wicked, with 
avowed evil principles, diffusing error among 
the true ; there are others whose character is 
merely negative in regard to God — tares so 
nearly like the true wheat that to human eyes 
there seems no difference. And these must 
grow with the true children of God until the 
harvest. They handle the same word of truth, 
hear the same sermons, perhaps sit in the same 



The Growing Period. yj 

pews, and dwell under the same roof. They 
ripen together in moral character, but, alas ! 
how different their condition when the reaper 
comes ! 

In addition to these obstacles drought, blast- 
ing, and mildew were frequent visitations of 
God, causing famine in the land. No scourge 
in the hand of God was more terrible than a 
famine. Jeremiah (Lam. iv, 8, 9) gives us this 
picture of a starving people : "' Their visage is 
blacker than a coal ; they are not known in the 
streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones ; it is 
withered, it is become like a stick. They that 
be slain with the sword are better than they 
that be slain with hunger: for these pine 
away, stricken through for want of the fruits of 
the field." 

And God seems frequently to have visited 
Palestine with a drought, causing famine. 
Such a scourge occurred in the days of Abra- 
ham, when he and his wife were directed to 
go for a season to Egypt ; a similar calamity 
sent Isaac to the country of the Philistines ; an- 
other sent Jacob and his family to Egypt. Be- 
cause there w^as no rain nor dew there was 
'* a sore famine in Samaria '' in the days of 
Elisha ; and once, at least, the fields of Boaz, 
in common with a wide extent of land around 



78 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Bethlehem, failed, causing the famine which 
drove Elimelech and his family to the land of 
the Moabites. The scarcity of food under 
these visitations was more or less distressing 
and widespread. That in the time of Jacob 
seems to have been universal. One is re- 
corded in 2 Kings vi, in which hunger be- 
came so great that a mother devoured the 
flesh of her own child. That in the time of 
Boaz appears to have been neither widespread 
nor severe ; for though Elimelech left the 
country on account of it, Boaz, doubtless, re- 
mained. 

As there are few large springs and rivers in 
Syria, irrigation could only avail in ordinary 
seasons. Rain was the chief dependence ; if 
this failed in November or December, unless 
it was supplemented by unusually favorable 
weather in the early spring, the sustenance of 
the people was cut off. In Egypt the prod- 
ucts of the field were entirely dependent on 
the annual overflow of the Nile ; and as a fail- 
ure here was less frequent from this cause, this 
country became the great store-house for the 
surrounding nations in time of scarcity. 

The winds of Palestine frequently occasioned 
a famine. Those of the east and south are 
expressively called by the Arabs '' the father 



The Growing Period, 79 

of desolation." Our Lord thus refers to their 
bHghting effects, (Luke xii, 55:) ''When ye 
see the south wind blow, ye say there will be 
heat, and it cometh to pass." Its oppressive 
stillness and sultriness are described by Job, 
(xxxvii, 16, 17 :) '' Dost thou know . . . how thy 
garments are warm, when he quickeneth the 
earth by the south wind ? " The desolation that 
fell upon the fields is described in Ezek. xvii, 10 : 
''Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? 
shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind 
toucheth it ? " These winds are the hot breath 
of the desert of Arabia, lying close to Pales- 
tine on the south and east. They often spring 
up suddenly, and commonly last but a single 
day. They are accompanied by a lurid ap- 
pearance of the atmosphere, caused by a fine 
dust which penetrates the clothing and every 
crevice of the houses. Men, cattle, and vege- 
tation soon feel their withering effects. " The 
grass and the flower of the field " are de- 
scribed as " gone " when this wind passes over 
them. 

Blasting and mildew were used by God as a 
kind of reserve force in his "great army" of 
destruction. One species of this scourge is 
known to the farmer as rust. It is found on 
the wheat plant in all stages of its growth. 



8b Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Warm and damp weather induces it to so seri- 
ous an extent that by harvest time the qual- 
ity and the quantity of the grain will be very 
much below the average crop. Another spe- 
cies is called bunt. Its injury is confined en- 
tirely to the grain, which bursts and reveals a 
black, vile powder. This is more properly the 
blasting spoken of in Scripture, and was occa- 
sioned by the hot eastern winds just before 
harvest. When Pharaoh saw in his dream the 
^^ seven ears of corn blasted by the east wind/' 
it was to him a sign of an approaching famine. 
Again and again God speaks of these as among 
his visitations against his wayward people: 
'* I smote you with blasting and mildew, and 
with hail in all the labors of your hands, yet 
ye turned not to me." 

So sudden and terrible were the effects of 
these upon the wheat, that they were sup- 
posed to have been sent directly by God to 
execute his purposes. But the investigations 
of science have established that they are dis- 
eases of the plants, occasioned by the growth 
of minute vegetable parasites which prey upon 
them. The microscope has disclosed millions 
of these on one single mold ; and these are 
capable of reproducing their own kind very 
fast. They are fostered into excessive growth 



The Growino; Period, 8i 



"S 



by favorable conditions of soil and weather, 
and are restricted by unfavorable conditions. 
Though minute, yet by the force of uncounted 
numbers they are more effective as God's ex- 
ecutioners than storms, earthquakes, or wars. 

All these agencies, so damaging to the pros- 
pects of the farmer, tell us that back of the 
busy world of sense God has what he calls his 
** great army " (Joel ii, 25) in reserve, which at 
any time he may let loose to overwhelm and 
destroy the works and life of man. His exe- 
cutioners are encamped all around us. "' They 
shall run to and fro in the city, they shall run 
upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the 
houses, they shall enter in at the windows like 
a thief. The Lord shall utter his voice before 
his army; for his camp is very great." 

But such evil influences were the exceptions. 
The rule was that the diligent and prudent 
farmer should be rewarded. Our heavenly Fa- 
ther, who has promised seed-time, has also 
promised harvest. Doubtless Boaz found year 
after year ample reward for his toil in sowing. 
The abundant products of his field must have 
been the chief source of his great wealth ; and 
perhaps he saw nowhere a more pleasant sight 
than the growing grain. His royal grandson 

expressed what must have welled up in the 
11 ^ 



82 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

heart of the devout in previous as well as in 
after ages : *^ Thou visitest the earth and water- 
est it. Thou preparest them corn when thou 
hast so provided for it. Thou crownest the 
year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop 
fatness/' 

The growing grain was attended with a hap- 
py, joyous companionship of buds, blossoms, 
and fruit. The climate of Jerusalem in win- 
ter is about like that of Florida, though the 
ground is occasionally covered with snow. In 
December, as the blades of wheat shoot forth, 
the country is covered with rich verdure, while 
the gardens abound in cabbages, cauliflowers, 
lettuce, and lentiles. In January the almond, 
peach, plum, and apricot trees are laden with 
blossoms. In February flowers — hyacinths, 
tulips, lilies, geraniums, and daisies every-where 
abound. In March beans, peas, sage, mint, 
and anise are added ; now, too, the blackthorn, 
fig, and olive trees are in bloom. April is the 
month for abundant vegetation of all kinds ; 
the white mulberry, rosemary, lavender, and 
the roses of Sharon join in the succession of 
the seasons, while the orange and lemon trees 
are laden with flowers and fruit. Thus from 
the sowing to the reaping time the whole land 
glowed with life and beauty. 



The Growing Period. 83 

Many elements combine for the healthy 
growth of the grain. Sunlight, heat, electric- 
ity, air, and moisture are essential. The latter, 
in the form of dew and rain, is often alluded 
to in the Bible. The early and latter rains 
were the especial hope of the husbandman. 
Rain usually comes from the west, because 
the Mediterranean Sea, the great reservoir, 
bounds Palestine on the west. The western 
clouds are called by the Arabs the *^ father of 
rain.*' " The little cloud like a man's hand,*' 
the sure sign to Elijah, arose out of the sea. 
This same token is alluded to by our Lord : 
*• When ye see a cloud arise out of the west, 
straightway ye say, There cometh a shower ; 
and so it is." Luke xii, 54. 

The latter rain ceased about the last of 
March ; hence for six weeks previous to the 
harvest, perhaps the most critical period, dew 
furnished the chief supply of moisture for the 
grain. This is spoken of as among the most 
precious gifts of heaven. ^' The seed shall be 
prosperous, and the ground shall give her in- 
crease, and the heavens shall give their dewT 
When God would add force to the promises 
of his grace he says, " I will be as the dew 
unto Israel.'' Its importance gives strength 
to David's language against Gilboa : '' Ye 



§4 Wheat from the Fields of Sous, 

mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, 
neither rain, upon you/' So, too, there is 
deep meaning in the threatened retribution of 
God against his people for sin : " Therefore 
the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and 
the earth is stayed from fruit/' . So rapid and 
copious is the dew in Palestine that it is found 
collected in the morning in a shallow dish, like 
water after a rain. The canvas tent of the 
traveler is saturated, and his garments are 
soaked by it, as when exposed to days of rainy 
weather. Especially is this the case on the 
sides of Hermon. The hot air sweeping up 
from the neighboring valleys is rapidly con- 
densed, and falls there as copiously as rain. 
Hence David incorporates ^^ the dew of 
Hermon " in a formula of blessing, (Psa. 
cxxxiii, 3.) Thus by its abundant and gentle 
diffusion it more than supplies the lack of rain, 
hastening forward the blades, stalks, and heads 
to the ripened period. 

And this growth was by a supernatural 
agency. Boaz must plow and sow ; he must 
watch the inclosures and guard against the 
enemy who would scatter tares ; but he could 
not cause one blade to spring up. The whole 
period was to him one of patience and faith. 
From God alone came the increase. He 



The Growing Period, 85 

tempered and directed the winds ; sent the 
sunHght, the showers, and the dew, in proper 
proportion and at proper times. So, too, the 
growth was gradual and imperceptible. The 
seed sown, the farmer slept and waked, yet the 
grain sprung up and continued to grow. He 
might notice the various stages, ^* first the blade, 
then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear ; " 
but no mortal eye has ever seen the mighty 
energies that carry forward the process. 

And all the elements must conspire for the 
growth at each stage of its advancement : the 
sun must shine from day to day, the clouds 
must gather, the showers must fall, the dew 
must descend; and all these must combine in 
their ceaseless, tireless work until gradually, 
yet noiselessly and gently, the perfection is 
reached, and there stands forth the ripened 
grain. 

Behold in all this the law of spiritual growth. 
The truth is to be sown and is to be received 
into the heart, but there is a power mightier 
than human eloquence, that causes it to ger- 
minate and grow. As many elements conspire 
in the growth of grain, so does God use a 
variety of instrumentalities in the development 
of spiritual life. As the growth of the one is 
gradual, so is it in soul culture. Days roll on, 



86 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

seasons come and go, blessings are sent, sore 
trials are experienced, providences, the word 
and the Spirit conspire ; and the process con- 
tinues. Character, the most precious out- 
growth of life, is approaching the ripened 
period. For this, each day, God's light is 
given. His providences, joyous and sad, are 
sent. As with the grain December cannot do 
the work for April, nor April for December, so 
in moral character each day must do its work 
for that day alone. 

The gates of life open only one way. And 
as the dew, falling gently and silently upon 
blade, leaf, and flower, makes the whole land- 
scape glow with living beauty, so is it, when 
the heart is opened to receive the gentle but 
all-powerful influences of the divine Spirit. 
Then is fulfilled to each soul that sweet pre- 
diction, '* My doctrine shall drop as the rain, 
my speech distill as the dew." Then the heart 
that was once a '^ wilderness and a solitary 
place is made glad, and the desert blossoms as 
the rose.'' 



Harvest Time. 87 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HARVEST TIME. 

THE harvest work in the fields of Boaz 
began with the barley, immediately after 
the passover feast, and continued for fifty 
days, until the feast of Pentecost, when the 
wheat harvest was ended. There was, how- 
ever, an interval of about three weeks between 
the end of the barley harvest and the begin- 
ning of the wheat harvest. The fields might 
be cleared sooner or later than the Pentecost ; 
this would vary according to the weather and 
the locality. In the Jordan valley harvest 
begins about three weeks earlier than on the 
uplands about Jerusalem, though the two lo- 
calities are only about twenty miles apart. 
The season is generally later now in Palestine 
than it was in ancient times, owing to the 
changes of climate, occasioned by the de- 
struction of forest trees, and the neglect of 
cultivation. (See chap, ii.) Because the barley 
ripened earlier than the wheat, it was de- 
stroyed in Egypt by the plague of hail — the 



88 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

seventh of the terrible ten — while the wheat 
escaped. (Exod. ix, 31, 32.) 

Not one stalk of grain could be cut until after 
the offering of the wave sheaf at the passover. 
On the evening of the last day of the Jewish 
religious year, which corresponded to our night 
before Easter, a fire was kindled on the heights 
about Shiloh ; this was answered by one on 
Mizpah, then by another on Tekoah ; and so 
far and wide over all the land the heights 
glowed with signal fires summoning the faith- 
ful to Shiloh, the seat of the tabernacle, to 
celebrate the great feast of the Jews. Boaz 
knew the meaning of the ruddy glare that 
was answered that night from Tekoah to Beth- 
haccerem, and early the next morning Beth- 
lehem was astir. Companies united by ties of 
kinship and friendship were marshaling for 
the pilgrimage. Every male of over twelve 
years of age must go to this annual gathering. 
The attendance of the women was voluntary, 
though the devout, like Hannah and Mary, fre- 
quently went. 

Boaz is, perhaps, the leader in his company ; 
and while he with the elders precedes, others, 
with camels laden with provisions and tents, 
follow ; some of the company have charge of 
the provisions, and others bear the lamb for the 



Harvest Time. 



89 



sacrifice. Scattered through the h'nes are 
Levites with musical instruments. The dis- 
tance to Shiloh is an easy day's march from 




GOING UP TO THE FEAST. 



Bethlehem, yet they are off by sunrise, to allow 
a long halt by the fountain at Bethel during 
the hot April noontide. 

As we endeavor to picture this journey from 
to-day, there come before the mind thoughts 
of another company journeying from Nazareth 
to the Passover feast fifteen hundred years 
later, and halting, perhaps, at this same fount- 
ain. Among them w^as a lad, full of wisdom 
and grace, growing up in favor with God and 



90 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

man. Jesus, the world's Saviour, in the person 
of that lad was going up with his parents for 
the first time to this feast, 

David's harp had not yet furnished the 
music for the pilgrimage of these Bethle- 
hemites, but David's source of inspiration was 
vouchsafed to them. Nature and nature's God 
spoke to them on every hand. " The winter 
was past; the rain was over and gone;" its 
cold and damps and clouds were dissipated. 
^^The time of the singing of birds was come." 
Flowers, green fields, and sparkling dew-drops 
gladdened the hearts of the pilgrim worship- 
ers. The sun was pouring its streams of 
gold and purple on the vine-clad hills and 
pastures about Bethlehem. And, above all, 
the approach of another harvest proclaimed 
that Israel's God was renewing his pledge to 
his chosen people. What soul would not feel 
the inspiration of such surroundings? Though 
the devout might not hear David's words, they 
would feel his gratitude. As the Bethle- 
hemites journeyed on and on, over hill-sides 
and through deep valleys, other groups would 
join them, and still others, and the music and 
songs of the Levites would be caught up and 
prolonged in the clear spring air, until, as they 
neared the sanctuary, the whole land seemed 



Harvest Time. 91 

vocal with songs and shoutings of thanks- 
giving. 

The sacrifice of the lamb and the paschal 
supper, the principal service of the passover, 
occurred on the first day ; the offering of the 
wave sheaf was the business of the second. 
Sheaves of barley, cut from some neighboring 
field, were carried to the tabernacle, and waved 
by the priest as the offering of the first-fruits 
of the harvest to the Lord ; then the grain 
was ground, mixed with oil and wine, and 
presented with a lamb, as a meat-offering and 
a drink-offering. (Lev. xxiii, 10-14.) 

Thus solemnly did they recognize God as 
the source of the harvest. Until this cere- 
mony was performed not one grain of the 
new crop was to be eaten, green, roasted, or 
baked. Boaz, having fulfilled his obligation 
at the feast, returned to his home, and soon 
was looking upon ^* fields white unto the har- 
vest.'' 

The interest of the farmer for the entire 
year centered on the harvest season ; hence the 
force of Jeremiah*s exclamation to God's way- 
ward people. (Jer. viii, 20.) This period unim- 
proved, all is lost. Solomon says, *^ He that 
sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth 
shame." From allusions in Matt, ix, 37 ; 



92 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

Luke X, 2, we may infer that then, as now, it 
claimed universal attention, and the labor of 
many hands. Dr. Robinson speaks of seeing 
two hundred reapers and gleaners at work in one 
field near Gaza. Another says, '' Before it was 
light the village was all a-buzz like a bee-hive, 
and as the sun arose the whole plain appeared 
dotted over with harvesting parties — men reap- 
ing, women and children gleaning and gather- 
ing the grain into bundles." 

As soon as the grain was ripened it must 
be harvested ; thus all classes found ample 
employment. More than the ordinary field 
hands were then required. Men with brawny 
muscles were to be found at the market-place 
early in the morning, watching for employ- 
ment. The owner of many acres would en- 
gage all he could find, and if the supply was 
not sufficient he would send again and again 
for others. A confidential servant, to whom 
the owner gave his orders, was also set over 
the reapers. (Ruth ii, 5.) This one would be 
held accountable for the proper execution of 
the work, and on him devolved the duty of pay- 
ing the servants their wages. By the law, (Deut. 
xxiv, 15,) each person was to be paid for his 
work at the close of every day ; not to do this 
.would be deemed a mark of great oppression. 



Harvest Time. 93 

(James iii, 4.) The scene of the parable of 
the laborers was as familiar to Boaz as it was 
in the time of our Saviour, and it is enacted 
to-day in the busy season of the year in every 
considerable town and city in Palestine. Here, 
then, was a well-ordered harvest company, 
each in his place, sickle in hand, advancing on 
the standing grain like a phalanx of soldiers ; 
no confusion, no rudeness, no unkindness to 
any one ; hands and hearts ready to do their 
master's bidding. How could it be otherwise 
when the ** good-mornings " between the em- 
ployer and the employed are, ** The Lord be 
with you !" '^ The Lord bless thee!" A scene 
worthy of imitation in shops, stores, factories, 
and fields. 

And this was a joyous group of reapers. 
Never did the curse of labor seem so light. 
The melody of the passover pilgrimage con- 
tinued, and often in the fields swelled into glad 
songs and shoutings. Now the divine affluence 
was most apparent ; the sowing in tears and 
the anxious watchings have brought their re- 
ward in the ripened grain. The laborers re- 
joice in the ample recompense for their serv- 
ices ; they feast on the butter of kine and the 
fatlings of Bashan's flocks. The cry for bread 
is no more heard in the streets, for the boun- 



94 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

teous harvest has opened the heart of the 
wealthy husbandman to supply the wants of 
the needy : 

** The loveliest time in all the glad year, 

When the laborer gains the reward of his toil. 

And the gladsome song of the reapers we hear, 
As they joyfully gather the spoil." 

The Israelites went into their fields with 
psalms and shouting. We can almost hear 
their gladsome voices in the Sixty-fifth Psalm : 
^* Thou crownest the year with thy goodness ; 
and thy paths drop fatness . . . the little hills re- 
joice on every side. The pastures are clothed 
with flocks ; the valleys also are covered over 
with corn ; they shout for joy, they also sing." 
When the prophet would express the deep 
sorrows of the land of Moab he says : *^ The 
shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy 
harvest is fallen. And gladness is taken away, 
and joy out of the plentiful field.'' And 
when Isaiah would find the type of a happy, 
joyous Christian life, he goes to the harvest 
field for it : '^ They joy before thee according 
to the joy in harvest.'* 

No interruptions from rain with rare excep- 
tions occur, for by this time ^^ the rain is over and 
gone," and '* it is reserved during the appointed 
weeks of harvest." Jer. v, 24. It is especially 



Harvest Time, 95 

never known to rain during the wheat harvest. 
Hence the force of Samuel's question, ^* Is it 
not wheat harvest to-day?" And the thunder 
and rain that did come at that time was evi- 
dently miraculous, in answer to his prayer, to 
awaken in the hearts of the wayward people a 
proper fear of God. (i Sam. xii, 17.) 

Dense clouds of vapor at times arise in the 
mornings at this season. Dr. Thomson thus 
vividly describes their appearance : *^ The 
(harvest) parties separated in all directions out 
into the plain, shouting for the same reason 
that steamers whistle, blow horns, and ring 
bells in foggy weather. It was a strange ride, 
for in the gray foggy dawn we saw camels in 
the air and ' rr^n as trees walking,* and often 
heard all sorts of noises about us without see 
ing any thing. At length, a sea-breeze coming 
to the assistance of the sun, the fog began to 
rise and wheel about, now hither, now thither, 
in fantastic evolutions, until at the end of an 
hour we came out in the clear light of the 
day. I have never seen such a cloud in thic 
country except in the heat of harvest." 

This evanescent mist of the morning is used 
by God to describe the transient goodness 
of the hypocrite : '* O Judah, what shall I do 
unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning 



96 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away." 
Hosea vi, 4. 

The heat even in April was oppressive, and 
before the end of the harvest it grew more in- 
tense ; thus Isaiah (xviii, 4) speaks of " the heat 
of harvest/* Instances of what is called sun- 
stroke frequently occur at this season. This 
was evidently the cause of the death of the 
Shunammite^s son. The plain of Esdraelon 
glowing like a furnace in the harvest time, he 
was out in the field with his father, when he cried 
out, *' My head, my head ! And he said to a lad. 
Carry him to his mother. And when he had 
taken him, and brought him to his mother, he 
sat on her knees till noon, 'and then died.'' 
2 Kings iv, 19, 20. It was on such a hot, sultry 
day in ^^ harvest time " that David, perched in 
the cave of Adullam, far up on the side of Mt. 
Tekoa, and overlooking the fields of Boaz, 
then glistening with the spears of the Philis- 
tines, exclaimed, ** O that one would give me 
drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, 
which is by the gate! " 2 Sam. xxiii, 15. And 
the valor of his three mighty men is height- 
ened by the fact that they broke through 
the host of the enemy and brought back 
the coveted beverage amid the harvest heat. 

The heat of this season explains the cause of 



Harvest Time. 97 

the overflow of the Jordan when the IsraeUtes 
crossed it. In connection with that event it 
is said, ^^ For Jordan overfloweth all his banks 
all the time of harvest." Josh, iii, 15. The 
infallibility of the inspired word is called in 
question by some because of this statement. 
It is said that, as the harvest occurs long after 
the latter rains, and as the Jordan is so short 
a stream, the overflow must have occurred 
long before harvest. This overflow, however, 
is not caused by the rainy season, but by the 
melting of the snow and ice in the harvest heat, 
far up on the snowy sides of Mt. Hermon. 
And it is a fact, established by the observation 
of travelers, that the Jordan does annually rise 
to the top of its lowest terraces in April. The 
difference between the overflow at present, 
and that in the time of Joshua, is owing to the 
facts, that the channel, especially of the lower 
Jordan, is deeper now than it was three thou- 
sand years ago, and that the country about its 
source, in upper Galilee and on the Lebanon 
range, is now more thoroughly drained, owing 
to the destruction of forest trees. 

The implement used by the reapers of Boaz 
was the sickle, shaped like the arc of a circle, 
with fine teeth. Sometimes the blade was set 

so as to form an acute angle with the handle ; 
13 



98 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

then it would be more properly called a reap- 
ing-hook. The cradle, like the reaper, is com- 
paratively a modern invention. Our ancestors 
used the sickle, and in most parts of Europe 
to this day no one ever saw any thing else for 
gathering the grain. The sickle is spoken of 
in all ages of Bible history. Moses refers to it. 
(Deut. xvi, 9.) Jeremiah, (1, 16,) prophesying 
against Babylon, says : ^^ Cut off the sower 
from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle 
in time of harvest." Joel, speaking of the 
wickedness of the nations as ripe for the divine 
wrath, says : "' Put ye in the sickle, for the har- 
vest is ripe.'* In Palestine to this day they 
reap with the same rude implements their fa- 
thers used three thousand years ago. 

Sometimes the grain was cut off near the 
heads, and gathered into baskets. To this 
mode Job refers in his allusion to the sudden 
destruction of the wicked : '' Cut off as the tops 
of the ears of corn." Job xxiv, 24. But from 
the many allusions to stubble and sheaves we 
may infer that grain was usually gathered with 
a considerable portion of the straw, as with us. 
From the paintings on the tombs in Egypt we 
learn that sometimes it was pulled up by the 
roots. This custom prevails at the present day 
in many parts of Palestine. They have so lit- 



Harvest Time, 99 

tie fodder for cattle, and fuel is so scarce, that 
it is necessary to save every inch of straw. 

To this more careful gathering of the harvest, 
perhaps, Isaiah refers in his prophecy of the des- 
olation of Northern Syria: "And it shall be as 
when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and 
reapeth the ears with his arm." Isaiah xvii, 5. 
Nothing shall be left of her form^er glory. 

The grain thus cut, or pulled, was bound in 
sheaves, Joseph saw in his dream that, as he was 
binding, his sheaf arose and stood up, while 
those of his brethren stood around and made 
obeisance to it. Cowper translates Homer, in 
his beautiful description of harvest labor, thus — 

" Along the furrows here the harvest fell 
In frequent handfuls ; there they bound the sheaves. 
These binders of the sheaves their sultry task 
All plied industrious, and behind them boys 
Attended, filling with the corn their arms, 
And offering still their bundles to be bound." 

But the binders had another duty besides 
tying up the heaps after the reapers. Scat- 
tered through the grain were stalks greener 
and coarser than the wheat, with heads smaller 
and evidently not so well filled. If the shriv- 
eled grains of these stalks are ground with the 
wheat the bread is nauseous and unwhole- 
some. These are the tares spoken of by our 



loo Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Lord, and concerning which the husbandman 
was to say in time of harvest, ^* Gather ye to- 




TARES. 
" Then appeared the tares also." 



gether first the tares, and bind them in bundles 
to burn them/' Matt, xiii, 30. Though there 
is no allusion to this elsewhere in the Bible, 
yet it, doubtless, claimed the attention of har- 



Harvest Time, 101 

vesters long before the Saviour's time, as it has 
since. Dr. Thomson says : ** When the grain 
has headed out, the tares have done the same, 
and then a child cannot mistake them for 
wheat.*' Dean Stanley speaks of women and 
children *^ picking out from the wheat in the 
corn-fields of Samaria the tall, green stalks still 
called by the Arabs zouwany 

The sheaves were never set up in shocks^ as 
with us, because there was no rain at this sea- 
son of the year to make it essential. The 
original word translated shocks (Judges xv, 5 ; 
Job V, 26) signifies heaps of sheaves thrown 
loosely together. They simply gathered the 
sheaves into heaps to expedite the work of col- 
lecting the grain on the threshing-floor. These 
heaps of sheaves over the field would suggest 
the idea of a battle-field, with piles of dead 
men strewn about. Hence Jeremiah foretells 
how the people of Judea shall be cut down by 
their enemies, and left upon the open field ^' as 
the handful after the harvestman, and none 
shall gather them." Jer. ix, 22. It was after 
some of the grain was cut and thus gathered 
into heaps that Samson (Judges xv, 5) set fire 
to the foxes' tails, and scattered them in the fieW 
to destroy the shocks and the standing grain of 
the Philistines. 



1 02 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE GLEANERS. 

AMID the joy and plenty of the harvest 
season there was at least one home in 
Bethlehem beclouded with sorrow. Two 
widows dwelt there in great poverty. They 
had known better days, but now want had en- 
tered their lonely dwelling, and they had ap- 
parently no means of relief. We know the 
language that must often have come from the 
grief-stricken heart of the elder of the two : 
^^ Call me not Naomi — happiness ; call me 
Mara — bitterness ; for the Almighty hath dealt 
very bitterly with me. I went out full, and 
the Lord hath brought me home again empty.'' 
No, Naomi, not altogether empty, for, though 
bereft of thy husband and sons, thou hast thy 
faithful and loving daughter-in-law, who cher- 
ishes with thee the memory of the dear de- 
parted, and who with thee trusts in the living 
God. Hath she not said, " Where thou lodg- 
est, I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, 
thy God my God ? '' 



The Gleaners. 103 

Ruth had seen the glad and eager reapers, 
as, with sickle in hand, they went out from 
Bethlehem that morning in the early dawn, 
followed by the women and children. And 
the thought suddenly springs up. Our condition 
is not hopeless ; it is the time of harvest ; the 
poor may glean. '' Mother, let me go into the 
fields, and glean ears of corn after him in whose 
favor I shall find grace." And soon, with light 
heart and nimble steps, she is off for the fields. 

In going thus to glean Ruth was not a mere 
pensioner on the bounty of the wealthy owner 
of the field. Common consent had granted this 
privilege to the needy since harvests began. 
(Job xxiv, 10.) But God through his servant 
Moses, as he did with the ten commandments, 
sanctioned and defined this by an express law, 
as a gracious provision for the poor : '' When 
ye reap the harvest of your land, then thou 
shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, 
neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy 
harvest." Lev. xix, 9. '' When thou hast for- 
got a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go 
again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, 
for the fatherless, and for the widow." Deut. 
xxiv, 19. Thus the poor might by right enteV 
the field to gather the stray stalks, the forgot- 
ten sheaves, and what grew in the corners, where 



104 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

the plow did not so thoroughly break up the 
soil. Yet, in order to prevent confusion and 
undue pressure on particular localities, it seems 
to have been recognized as the right of the 
owner to say who should glean in his field. 

As the landholders were subject to no other 
tax for the poor, this may seem at first sight 
very meager for their wants. But it should 
be remembered that the laws for gleaning the 
harvest applied also to the vineyards, olive 
orchards, and, indeed, to whatever crop or 
growth was fit for food. Also the whole prod- 
uct of the land every seventh year of rest 
was theirs. Nor were the poor so vague or 
large a class as we understand by that term. 
David, popular leader as he was, could not 
muster more than from four to six hundred 
men out of all Judah, though '' everyone that 
was in distress, and every one that was in 
debt, and every one that was discontented, 
gathered themselves unto him.'* i Sam. xxii, 2 ; 
XXV, 13. And as each family had a certain 
fixed estate, the poor were the members of 
those families, and had especial claims to glean 
in the fields of their near relatives. Here is 
an additional reason why Ruth asked permis- 
sion to glean in the field of Boaz. She was 
bidden to glean with his poor relatives, recog- 



The Gleaners. 105 

hized as his '^ maidens/* and for this privilege 
deemed that she had found great favor in his 
sight. 

Behold in this one of the many instances of 
God*s care for the poor. He who made the 
heavens and the earth made provision for the 
comfort of all his people. And while this 
Mosaic law may not be binding upon us, and 
because of our more abundant harvests, and 
the greater demand for labor elsewhere, the 
gleaners are not seen in our fields, yet we 
ought to cherish the broad spirit of benev- 
olence which the divine example and the 
spirit of the Gospel teach. "' If thou drawest 
out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the 
afflicted soul, thou shalt be like a watered 
garden." '^ The poor ye have always with 
you." With these our Lord identifies himself, 
and in caring for them we manifest love to 
him, and merit the commendation, "' Inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the 
least of these my brethren, ye have done it un- 
to me." 

Thus, following close after the binders, were 

groups of maidens to glean the scattered heads 

of grain. Their peculiar Oriental dress would 

give an effect to the harvest scene in wide 

contrast with what we are accustomed to look 
14 



lo6 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

upon. As the fashions in that country are un-' 
changeable, having descended from primitive 
times, rather than been imported from the lat- 
est court device of Paris or Berhn, the styles 
of the poorer classes of to-day will give us a 
fair idea of the dress of these gleaners. One 
exception, however, is to be observed ; cotton 
goods are now generally preferred to the linen 
of various textures so often alluded to in the 
Bible, the coarsest of which comes to us from 
that age in the mummy wrappings. Indeed, it 
is highly probable that cotton, as a texture for 
garments, was wholly unknown in the Old 
Testament times. A coarse linen tunic reached 
to the ankles, and terminated in an ample bor- 
der or fringe which covered the feet. (Jer. 
xiii, 22.) A bright colored or embroidered 
girdle, of a finer material, gathered the loose 
folds about the waist. The color of the tunic 
was blue, as the best proof against the tarnish 
of the weather and the work. 

Sandals, like the sole of a shoe, made from 
the skin of an animal, (Ezek. xvi, lo,) were tied 
on the feet with thongs, which, though deemed 
the cheapest of articles, (Gen. xiv, 23,) were 
sometimes highly wrought. (Sol. Song vii, i.) 
Such a protection for the feet was regarded 
as of great importance, even by the very poor- 



The Gleaners, 107 

est classes. (Amos viii, 6.) A profusion of or- 
naments of gold and silver and of precious 
stones was deemed very desirable. Usually 
much of the patrimony of the daughters was 
invested in this way. Even the poorest would 
rather suffer great privations than part with 
such ornaments. 

Isaiah (iii) furnishes us with the names of 
some of the articles. There were anklets, arm- 
lets, bracelets, necklaces, nose-rings, ear-rings, 
and headbands. The latter were probably 
coins strung together as crowns, such as are 
worn at the present time in the East. In 
such ornaments a supply of precious metal 
was collected, from the voluntary contributions 
of the women during the pilgrimage, to fur- 
nish the sacred utensils for the tabernacle. 
(Exod. xxxviii, 8.) Gideon's army captured 
from the Midianites of *' ear-rings '' in weight 
two thousand shekels of gold, besides collars 
and other ornaments. (Judg. viii, 26.) The 
apostles (I Tim. ii, 9: i Peter iii, 4) found it 
necessary to urge Christian women not to 
adorn themselves with broidered hair, or gold, 
or pearls, or costly array, but with ''the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit, which, in the 
sight of God, is of great price." 

I have thus spoken of the dress, because of 



io8 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

the allusion to another article of apparel 
prominent among these gleaners. P'rom the 
head, gracefully falling over the shoulders, was 
a loose outer garment, usually white or striped. 




VAIL. 



about as capacious as a sheet, and, if white, 
looking very much like one. Its folds were 
fastened to each shoulder by a silver pin. 
This loose garment is called in the common 
version a ^^ wimple," (Isaiah iii, 22,) a term now 
obsolete, and conveying to most readers as 



The Gleaners, 109 

little idea of what is meant as would the orig- 
inal Hebrew. The word in the original is the 
same as that translated vail in Ruth iii, 15. 
It rather corresponds to our ideas of a shawl 
or mantle, but, as it covered the head, could be 
used for a vail at pleasure. At present 
women are rarely seen in public without a 
vail ; even those engaged in the hardest drudg- 
ery wear it. The writer recalls, with painful 
feelings, the frequent sight of poor women in 
Egyptian cities carrying mortar for builders 
during the hot days of July, with their faces 
vailed. 

Much of this desire to conceal the features 
is to be attributed to the Koran, which forbids 
women appearing unvailed, except in the pres- 
ence of near relatives. It does not seem to 
have been deemed so important to vail the 
face on all occasions in public in ancient times. 
Rebekah '^took a vail and covered herself" on 
the approach of Isaac, (Gen. xxiv, 65,) and 
the wearer at a later period deemed it an in- 
jury next to being wounded to be stripped 
of her vail. (Sol. Song v. 7.) The wife of Abra- 
ham, however, captivated the Egyptians with 
her beautiful countenance, (Gen. xii, 14,) anci 
Jacob saw the face of his Cousin Rachel at the 
well, and kissed her, (Gen. xxix, 1 1 ;) so, too, 



1 10 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Ruth '' sat beside the reapers *' and ate with 
them at meal-time. 

The ample folds of the vail could be put to 
a variety of uses. The Israelite women bound 
their kneading troughs with the unleavened 
bread in theirs, (Exod. xii, 34 ;) into it the lot 
was cast, (Prov. xvi, 33 ;) and it seems to have 
been used simply as a covering for the head, 
in public assemblies, in the time of the apos- 
tles, (i Cor. xi, 5.) Its being so ample, and of 
the coarser material worn by the poor, will ex- 
plain how Ruth could carry in her '* vail " 
nearly a bushel of grain. (Ruth ii, 17.) 

There was, doubtless, some difference be- 
tween the dress of the Bethlehemite women 
and that of the Moabites ; and Ruth was, as 
yet, too poor to conform to the style of her 
adopted home. This difference, as well as her 
countenance and deportment, may have dis- 
tinguished her as a stranger, and led Boaz to 
inquire of his overseer who she was. It seems 
that her history was generally known in the 
town, and on learning that she was the person 
who came back with Naomi, he accosted her 
kindly, bidding her welcome to glean during 
harvest in his fields, while he orders his men 
not to molest her in her work, but to show her 
especial favors. 



The Gleaners, ill 

While thus the confiding and devoted daugh- 
ter of Moab is busy in her arduous work, let 
us also glean a few of the precious golden 
sheaves of truth from this field. Who does 
not admire the grace of God in forming Ruth's 
beautiful character? 

See her kindness of heart, Naomi has noth- 
ing to promise her daughter-in-law on leaving 
the land of Moab ; still, the latter clings to 
her with an affection that neither home, nor 
kindred, nor great privation can sever. ^^ Where 
thou lodgest, I will lodge ; and where thou diest, 
I will die/' And nobly does she fulfill this 
promise. In her new horne poverty becomes 
her only recompense, yet her ardor changes 
not ; she is ready to do what she can, day 
after day, in the field, to earn bread to sup- 
port and cheer the heart of the aged saint, as 
if she were all the world to her. It was this 
constant and unremitting kindness that be- 
came the theme on which many in the town 
loved to speak, and which at length came to 
the ears of Boaz. *^ It hath been fully showed 
me, all that thou hast done to thy mother-in- 
law." 

See, also, her cheerful diligence. Instead of' 
repining in her adversity, or waiting for help 
from relatives, she is up and away to the fields 



112 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

to glean. Her hands have never before been 
used to such toil, and perhaps she cannot even 
now earn much, but she can take her place with 
the other maidens, and may gather enough to 
support herself and Naomi. In this spirit she 
gleaned until the end of the harvest. One of 
the vices of our time is a spirit of pride on the 
part of many who cannot live without earning 
their own support. Ashamed to work, they 
would rather eat bread, wear garments, and 
enjoy luxuries for which others have toiled, 
than to earn them for themselves. High- 
mindedness, with the meanness of depending 
on others for support, is the cheap ornament 
of not a few in these days. 

See again her humility, Ruth was not 
ashamed to be poor. There is nothing in pov- 
erty of which any one need be ashamed, unless 
his own sins have brought him to it. She had 
dignity of character and self-respect, but she 
had no pride that rebelled against God's ways. 
She makes a virtue of her misfortune, and 
never does she appear more beautiful. And 
whether addressing the overseer or the rich 
owner, or whether at her work or in her home, 
there shines out this same spirit. Artists of 
all ages have vied with each other to repre- 
sent her as among the most beautiful of wom- 



The Gleaners. 113 

en, and, doubtless, such she was, but this por- 
trait of her inner beauty, drawn by the divine 
Hand, excels every thing that genius has con- 
ceived. 

And in all this see the grace of God. Said 
an aged and poor woman once to the writer, 
concerning one from whom she had received 
great favors, *^ There is something more than 
human nature in that man ; his kindness to me 
has been so continuous and unselfish.'* So we 
may say in reference to this fair character. 
Something more tha^i human nature formed and 
wrought out for her those traits of beauty. 
The divine Hand strengthened her, divine wis- 
dom directed her, and the divine favor pros- 
pered her. ^^ Her hap was to light on the part 
of the field belonging to Boaz," but her hap 
was of God's appointment, for he meant that 
this humble gleaner should one day be exalted 
as among the most honored of women. 

Impressed with Ruth's gentle spirit, as 
evinced in her deportment and modest ex- 
pressions of gratitude, Boaz bids her drink of 
water provided by his men. Water was very 
important for the refreshment of the harvest 
laborers. It was often carried from a spring 
or well, located quite a distance from the field. 
Sometimes at this day it is mixed with ^now 



1 14 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

and the juice of the pomegranate, and other 
drinks, for a cooling beverage. The snow is 
transported for this purpose from Mount Her- 
mon to different parts of Palestine. Often 
cargoes of it are taken up the Nile to Cairo. 
This use of it may explain the passage in 
Proverbs : *^ As the cold of snow in the time 
of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them 
that send him ; for he refresheth the soul of 
his master.** The messenger bringing good 
news cheers and refreshes the spirit of one 
waiting in suspense, like the cooling drink of 
water to the thirsty harvester. 

The vessel in which the water was carried 
was composed of the skin of an animal, per- 
haps of a kid, a goat, or a sheep, and was the 
same as that so often called a bottle in the Bible. 
In the paintings on the tombs in Egypt there 
are scenes of harvest parties in the field ; some 
are carrying water in jars and in water skins, 
while others are drinking from the vessels sus- 
pended against trees. 

Boaz also bids Ruth come at meal time and 
partake of the harvest fare from his table. A 
tent called ^^the house*' was, perhaps, pitched 
in the field, in which the refreshments were 
provided. The principal meal in Bible times, 
as at this day in the East, was the supper. 



The Gleaner $. 115 

which we shall have occasion to describe in 
a subsequent chapter. That here spoken of 
would be such as is called by us a lunch, served 
at noon. Ample time was allowed the labor- 
ers for rest and refreshment at this hour of the 
day. 

Among the articles of food provided for this 
lunch were ''bread/' "vinegar/' and ''parched 
corn." Bread dipped in vinegar would not 
seem to us a very palatable dish, but in that 
warm climate any thing of an acid nature, free- 
ly used with the food, is most acceptable and 
beneficial for its cooling qualities. The trav- 
eler in the East finds half a lemon by the side 
of his cup of tea, a few drops of the juice of 
which, squeezed into the beverage, is to serve 
for sweetening. And he is often refreshed by 
the monks on arriving at convents by a drink 
called " vinegar wine." It is the unfermented 
juice of the grape, turned sour and mixed with 
water. When used with olive oil and bread, 
it makes a cooling dish suitable for laborers, 
soldiers, and travelers, in that warm climate. 
Such was, doubtless, the article called vinegar 
in a number of places in the Bible. Its ex- 
treme acidity may be inferred from the allu- 
sion in Proverbs xxv, 20, to its effect on niter. 
The Roman soldiers used it as a sauce in which 



1 16 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

they dipped their food, and called it Embam- 
mia. It was the beverage of which the Sav- 
iour partook in his last moments on the cross, 
and was the means of refreshing his exhausted 
physical strength so as to enable him to exclaim 
** with a loud voice. It is finished/' 

The parched corn was not the white puffy 
article that we prepare and eat on winter 
nights. Let travelers describe it : Dr. Robin- 
son, speaking of a harvest scene in Palestine 
similar to this one in the fields of Boaz, says : 
"A few were taking their refreshment, and 
offered us some parched corn. In the season 
of harvest the grains of wheat, not yet fully 
dry and hard, are roasted in a pan or on an 
iron plate, and constitute a very palatable 
article of food ; this is eaten along with bread, 
or instead of it.'* Mr. Tristam describes an- 
other mode of preparing it, which he saw in 
Galilee : '^ A few sheaves of wheat were tossed 
on the fire, and as soon as the straw was con- 
sumed the charred heads were dexterously 
swept from the embers into a cloak spread on 
the ground. The women of the party then 
beat out the ears, and tossed them into the air 
until they were thoroughly winnowed, when 
the wheat was eaten without further prepara- 
tion. The green ears had become half charred 



The Gleaners. \\^ 

by the roasting, and there was a pleasant 
minghng of milky wheat and fresh crust 
flavor/' 

Parched corn prepared in this manner was 
evidently a delicacy for the table in David's 
time. Among the articles of the feast that 
Abigail prepared for him (i Sam. xxv, i8) are 
mentioned bread, '^ clusters of raisins, cakes of 
figs, and parched corn." And when Jesse 
would send some home luxuries to his sons in 
the camp with Saul, he dispatched David with 
ten loaves of bread and nearly a bushel of 
parched corn, (i Sam. xvii, 17.) Such, then^ 
were the delicacies that Boaz served to Ruth 
at this harvest lunch, and of which she eat 
gladly, with a grateful heart, wondering all the 
while why she had found so great favor in his 
sight. 

When she had gleaned until evening she 
** beat out that she had gleaned." This she 
did because, through the delicate attention of 
Boaz, her supply was so ample. Permitted, as 
she was, to glean among the sheaves and to 
gather up the ** handfuls let fall of purpose for 
her," she was rewarded on the first day with 
an ephah of barley, which was nearly a bushel ; 
this, unthreshed, would have been a burden too 
great for her to carry ; but when threshed and 



1 1 8 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

winnowed could be borne home in the ample 
folds of the vail spoken of. The evening was 
also most favorable for this work, because as 
the sun goes down in that land a breeze 
always springs up which assists the winnowing. 
This custom of beating out the gleanings is 
still noticed there. Travelers frequently see 
women sitting by the roadside in the evening, 
beating with a stick on a flat stone handfuls 
of unthreshed wheat, evidently the result of 
their day's gleaning. 

Thus all through the hot weeks of the 
harvest this fair gleaner toiled in the field, 
happy only in the thought of providing for 
herself and her mother-in-law. She little 
dreamed that she was one day to possess the 
fullness of that harvest, and that by her union 
with the rich owner those fields also would 
be hers. She returned home each evening, 
wealthy with an ephah of grain ; but though 
she knew it not, she was accumulating a wealth 
greater far than has ever been gathered from 
harvest fields. Her name appears on the 
front page of the New Testament. Of her 
came King David and a long line of worthies 
— of her came Christ. 



Harvest-Home. 1 19 



CHAPTER X. 

H A R V E S T-H O M E . 

THE end of the ''appointed weeks of the 
harvest *' is approaching, and the feast 
of Pentecost is at hand. Though the fields 
need not necessarily be cleared by that time, 
yet our well-to-do farmer would feel an in- 
terest in having the harvest work completed 
before he went up to present the first- 
fruits. 

The last duty of the harvesters was to bring 
in the sheaves to the threshing-floor. In 
places where the floor was in, or near, the fields, 
it seems that the sheaves were carried to it on 
men's backs. This would present a scene of 
great activity and bustle. Two companies 
began at opposite extremities of the field, and 
finished in the center; each vying with the 
other to complete their task in the shortest 
time. In the hurry a few scattered sheaves 
might be forgotten ; these must be left for the 
fatherless and the widow. (Deut. xxiv, 19.) 
The removal of the last sheaf was reserved 



1 20 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

for the master of the field, and his appearance 
with his precious burden was the signal for the 
beginning of the joyous festivities that crowned 
the harvest-home. To this, perhaps, the Psahn- 
ist alludes in speaking of the glad ingathering 
of the sheaves in the spiritual harvest, when 
lifers harvest work is done. (Psa. cxxvi, 6.) 

** From the far-off fields of earthly toil, 

A goodly host they come ; 
And sounds of music are on the air ; 

'Tis the song of the harvest-home. 
They've seen the safely garnered sheaves, 

And the song has been passing sweet, 
Which welcomed the last in-coming one, 

Laid down at the Saviour's feet." 

Amos makes reference to the use of the cart 
for gathering the harvest, ^' I am pressed 
under you as a cart is pressed full of sheaves.'* 
This was a clumsy affair, with wheels of solid 
wood, and drawn by oxen. It could only be 
of service on the more level portions of the 
land. The Philistines sent back the ark and 
the sacred treasures to their rightful keepers 
on such a cart, during the wheat harvest, 
(i Sam. vi, 13.) The cart rope spoken of (Isaiah 
V, 18) was, doubtless, used for tying down 
the loaded sheaves. 

At present beasts of burden are used for 
this purpose. The patient camel is made to 




1? 



CABBTING GRAIN. 



Harvest-Home, 1 2 3 

lie down by the heaps, called '^ shocks/' in the 
Bible, and the sheaves are piled all over him, 
and belted fast to his body, so that scarcely 
any part of the animal can be discerned. Per- 
haps some one of these straws was the last that 
broke the camel's back. It is a strange and an 
amusing sight to look at a train thus coming 
in from the field. You see, apparently, a row 
of grain stacks moving off, without perceiv- 
ing the cause of locomotion, until, as you look 
close to the ground, you notice four feet step- 
ping cautiously, and striving to sustain their 
position with due gravity. Should these 
"ships of the desert" encounter a storm of 
wind they might be capsized, but, fortunately, 
no storm occurs during harvest time. As there 
were no roads in Palestine, except a few built 
by the Romans for military purposes, it is 
probable that beasts of burden were ordinarily 
used then, as now, in this work. 

The feast of Pentecost occurred on the 
fiftieth day after the offering of the wave 
sheaf, at the passover ; hence its name, Pente- 
cost, the Greek word for fiftieth. In the Old 
Testament it is called by three different 
terms: ** the feast of weeks," the " feast of 
harvest,*' and '^ the day of first-fruits." The 
divine ordinance regarding it is recorded in 



124 Wheat froin the Fields of Boaz. 

Deut. XVI. It was the joyful flocking up of all 
Israel to the house of God, to express their 
gratitude to Jehovah for the bounteous har- 
vest he had given them. It was, in fact, a 
great national harvest-home, in which God 
was recognized as the source of the harvest. 

It is thought by some that it was also de- 
signed to commemorate the giving of the law 
on Sinai, but the exact period from the begin- 
ning of the exodus, or the Passover night, to 
this event is not clearly established ; and no- 
where in the Scriptures is it intimated that 
such a commemoration was intended. The fact 
that the great ingathering of the early Church 
occurred on the day of Pentecost seems rather 
to refer to the first-fruits of the harvest than 
to any thing pertaining to the law. It is, also, 
worthy of notice that each of the three great 
feasts of Israel has some reference to the in- 
gathering of the fruits of the land. The Pass- 
over comes at the beginning and the Pentecost 
at the close of the grain harvest, while the 
feast of tabernacles celebrates the bounties of 
Providence in the gift of the grapes, the olives, 
and other fruits. 

As in the Passover, so in the feast of Pente- 
cost, the Egyptian bondage was to be recalled. 
" And thou shalt remember that thou wast a 



Harvest'Home. 125 

bondsman in Egypt/' Deut. xvi, 12. There 
was a divine harmony in this. Moses was 
wont to quicken the hopes of Israel in their 
journey by glowing descriptions of the Canaan 
harvests. *' The Lord thy God bringeth thee 
into a good land ... a land of wheat, and bar- 
ley, and vines ... a land of olive-oil and honey; 
a land wherein thou shall eat bread without 
scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it." 
Deut. viii, 8, 9. And now all was fully realized. 
The contrast of their hard bondage in Egypt 
with the land of bounteous harvests would 
keep fresh before them the faithfulness of 
their covenant-keeping God. Every time the 
tribes went up they would celebrate another 
year of that goodness and mercy which broke 
the yoke of their bondage, and led them 
through the wilderness to the goodly land — 
which changed the '' bitter herbs " for the 
" finest of wheat.'' 

The last song of the reapers is heard in the 
field, and the last sheaf is gathered, and now 
Boaz and his kindred are busy preparing for the 
pilgrimage to the feast. Baskets are filled with 
the best of wheat for the offering of the first- 
fruits. Nothing of an inferior quality must be 
presented to the Lord. In later times the 
baskets were woven of gold and silver wire, to 



126 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

express the preciousness of the offering. The 
company was made up of *^ kinsfolk and ac- 
quaintances/* with some prominent person Hke 
Boaz selected as president or leader. The 
season had advanced since the passover pil- 
grimage ; the days were longer, and the sun's 
rays hotter, the vines had climbed higher and 
grown thicker on the trellis, and the shade was 
deeper and more refreshing. The early figs 
and clusters of grapes were tinged with their 
rich purple, and the pomegranate was putting 
on its crimson hues. 

If in any way this pilgrimage differed from 
that of the passover, the company was larger, 
and the songs and rejoicings were, if possible, 
more hearty, now that the harvest work was 
ended, the laborers were rewarded, and the pre- 
cious grain was safely gathered. There were no 
fears that prowling bands would carry it off, 
while all the men were at the feast, for Jehovah 
had pledged his protection over their homes 
and fields on such occasions. (Exod. xxxiv, 24.) 
In this security of the Jews there is a remark- 
able proof of the divine origin of their religion, 
and the divine care over them. Josephus 
notices it, and the first instance he records of 
the withdrawal of this protection occurred in 
the year A. D. 66, thirty-three years after the 



Harvest-Home, 127 

Jews had, in the rejection of Christ, imprecated 
upon themselves the divine anger. At that 
time Cestus, the Roman general, slew fifty of 
the people of Lydda while their protectors had 
gone to the feast of tabernacles at Jerusalem. 
(Josephus, ii, 19.) 

We may form some idea of the appearance 
of these pilgrim bands from the caravans of 
to-day, as seen by travelers in the East. 
Horsemen, with the leader of the company, 
would ride in front ; then came camels and 
mules bearing the women and children, if any 
joined in the pilgrimage, with the baggage, 
consisting of tents, a few cooking utensils, and 
provisions. Interspersed along the line of 
march were those bearing the baskets of first- 
fruits and the other offerings, and Levites with 
instruments of music. As each beast walked 
behind the other in the narrow pathway, an 
ordinary sized company would be drawn out 
in a line of considerable length. 

Suppose all the people to be moved by the 
one impulse to attend the feast ; then let the 
reader imagine what an animated scene the 
land must have presented on these pilgrim 
days. In every pathway, winding over hills' 
and crossing valleys, were companies, more or 
less in number, with music and songs, all mov- 



128 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

ing toward the appointed place, to pour out 
their gratitude to God for his bounties to 
them. Had not the inspired apostle such a 
scene in his mind when he speaks of that in- 
numerable company which, animated by the 
same promises, and seeking the same blessed 
sanctuary above, " confessed that they were 
strangers and pilgrims on the earth? " 

The Scriptures give us a few traces of the 
interest felt in these gatherings. David says, 
** I was glad when they said unto me, Let us 
go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall 
stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem, whither 
the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto 
the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto 
the name of the Lord." And this psalm ever 
after became one of the songs of their pilgrim- 
age. The exiles, longing for these feasts, is 
thus plaintively expressed in the Forty-second 
Psalm, *^When I remember these things, I 
pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with 
the multitude ; I went with them to the house 
of God, with the voice of joy and praise.'' At 
the Pentecost spoken of in Acts, it seems that 
a great company was congregated to do hom- 
age to God, not only from all Judea, but from 
distant parts of the world, ^' devout men out 
of every nation under heaven," Even Paul 



Harvest-Home, 1 29 

long after he had renounced the ceremonies 
of the Jewish religion, felt something of the 
old ardor as the period of Pentecost drew on, 
and made all his plans yield to a pilgrimage 
to Jerusalem at that time. While usefully en- 
gaged in his work at Ephesus, and even " when 
they desired him to tarry longer with them, he 
consented not . . . saying, I must by all means 
keep this feast at Jerusalem." And on anoth- 
er occasion we find him timing his journey, 
all the way from Greece, that he might not 
miss the festival. "" He would not spend the 
time in Asia : for he hasted, if it were possible 
for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pente- 
cost." Acts XX, 16. 

The chief purpose of this feast was to pre- 
sent the first-fruits. Approaching Shiloh, the 
pilgrims were met by a company of priests ap- 
pointed to inspect the offerings. These, with 
Levites, joined them, and the whole assembly 
marched to the sanctuary with songs of thanks- 
giving, their feet keeping time with the music. 
Each leader carried on his shoulder the basket, 
festooned with flowers, containing the first- 
fruits, while others carried the personal free- 
will offerings. 

As the leader advanced with the first-fruits, 
he recited, in behalf of his fellow-pilgrims, the 



1 30 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

story of Jacob's descent in Egypt, and the de- 
liverance of his posterity from the bondage. 
*' I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, 
that I am come unto the country which the 
Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us . . . 
A Syrian ready to perish was my father ; and 
he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there 
with a few, and became there a nation, great, 
mighty, and populous : and the Egyptians evil 
entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us 
hard bondage : and when we cried unto the 
Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our 
voice, and looked on our affliction, and our la- 
bor, and our oppression : and the Lord brought 
us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, 
and with an outstretched arm, and with great 
terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders : 
and he hath brought us into this place, and hath 
given us this land, even a land that floweth 
with milk and honey. And now, behold, I 
have brought the first-fruits of the land, which 
thou, O Lord, hast given me." Deut. xxvi. 

This recited with deep fervor, the priest re- 
ceived the basket, and waving it before the 
Lord, placed it, with the two loaves, before 
the altar, the assembly meanwhile standing 
with august reverence. The offerings of the 
various companies thus received, the general 



Harvest-Home. 131 

offering, consisting of the lambs, the rams, and 
the bullock, was made as prescribed in Levit- 
icus xxiii, 17-21. 

Let the reader see foreshadowed in these 
impressive ceremonies the divine ideal of a 
harvest-home. God is to be recognized as the 
source of the harvest. Soon as the flood had 
subsided he made a new covenant with man, 
in which the promise of bread had a promi- 
nent place. ^' While the earth remaineth seed- 
time and harvest shall not cease.'* And he 
has never failed to fulfill that promise. There 
have been seasons of blight and mildew and 
drought, causing famine in some localities, but 
never has the failure extended over the whole 
earth. If there was want in one locality, there 
was plenty in another. If there ever had oc- 
curred one year of universal famine, its record 
would have been written deeper in the histo- 
ry of the world than was that of the flood. 
But so unvarying has been the return of har- 
vest that we call it God's law, and all the six 
thousand harvests of the past proclaim that he 
is their source. 

The peculiar adaptation of wheat to man'^s 
wants bespeaks its origin. Just as air is for the 
lungs, and the lungs for air — ^just as light is for 
the eye, and the eye for light — so is man 



132 Wheat from the Pie Ids of Eoaz, 

adapted for bread, and bread for man. We 
might live without houses — we might keep 
warm without fuel, or even clothing — we might 
sustain life without animal food, but we can- 
not exist without bread. And this alone of 
all the products of the earth has remained as 
God first gave it. The apple, the grape, the 
beet, the melon, and other fruits, once grew 
wild, and needed the culture of man to make 
them nutritious or palatable for food ; but no 
process of cultivation, no theories of devel- 
opment, can be applied to wheat. Its gold- 
en grains were as full, its flour as white and 
nutritious, when Adam was young as they 
are to-day. From the beginning it has ever 
been man's nourishment, and it will continue 
to be so, unchanged. In all this there is 
evidence that God is the direct source of the 
harvests. Truly as came the manna in the 
wilderness, or as have come the ten thousand 
upspringing mercies in our pathways, so truly 
comes bread from the hand of our heavenly 
Father. 

We do not enough realize this fact. Many 
who never see the process of husbandry, amid 
the various and complicated pursuits of life 
trace their food to their prudence and success 
in business, or to their wealth. And there are 



Harvest-Home, 1 3 3 

not a few farmers, who, if asked whence came 
their ample harvest, would say : '' I plowed 
deep, sowed the best seed, and the season was 
unusually favorable." This may be true in 
one sense ; but we must never forget, that with 
all our planning and plowing and sowing, to 
God belongs the increase. He gives us a 
mind and a will to plan ; he made the soil of 
such a nature as to produce food for man, and 
he only can give the sunshine and the rain, 
the season favorable for the growth and the 
ripening. The one great thought, in regard 
to our sustenance, is that we are to recognize 
God as its source. Daily we are to say, "' Give 
us this day our daily bread,'' and as the 
seasons roll their rounds we are to cherish 
grateful remembrances of his unceasing good- 
ness. 

Nor should our warmest expressions of 
gratitude for mercies received ever be sepa- 
rated from confessions of sin and a sense of 
our unworthiness of the Divine favor. Amid 
the offerings of the first-fruits on the day of 
Pentecost there went up the smoke of the 
sacrifices. *' And ye shall offer with the bread 
seven lambs without blemish of the first year, 
and one young bullock, and two rams : they 
shall be for a burnt-offering unto the Lord . . . 



134 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats, 
for a sin-offering/' Lev. xxiii, i8, 19. The 
sin-offering spoke of man's unworthiness, and 
the burnt-offering of Christ's infinite merits. 
It was while the blood of the sacrifices was 
streaming over the altar that Noah built that 
the promise of seed-time and harvest was 
made. As thus the merits of Christ were 
recognized in the promise, so must they 
be forever associated with its fulfillment. 
Man's unworthiness and the * Saviour's all- 
worthiness must mingle with every acceptable 
offering to God. 

In the presentation of the first-fruits, let us 
learn what are God's claims upon us. The 
harvest work could not begin until the offering 
of the wave sheaf, which was the first ripe 
sheaf of barley; and, now that the harvest is 
ended, the grain cannot be threshed, nor one 
loaf eaten, until the prescribed loaf with the 
first-fruits is dedicated to God. And this law 
applies to all the other fruits of the land, and 
to all the male first-born of beasts, and even of 
man. (Exod. xxii, 29, 30.) 

Whence arises this primal law, running 
through all the divine economy, but from the 
fact that God's claims are prior to every thing 
else? It is but another form of the assertions : 



Harvest-Home. 135 

*' Every beast of the forest is mine, and the 
cattle upon a thousand hills ; " ** The silver is 
mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of 
hosts ; *' *' All souls are mine/' This truth is 
expressed in stronger terms in the parable of 
the talents. The talents are God's goods, and 
man is but the steward, to whom they are in- 
trusted for the divine glory. And stronger 
still is it set forth in the plan of salvation. 
We are God's by the purchase of his greatest 
gift, even the sacrifice of his own dear Son. 
Our thoughts contracted within second causes, 
and our vision bounded by the narrow horizon 
of our own making, we do not enough realize 
that this is God's world, and all that we have 
and are is a trust from him. 

In every age there has been a race on the 
earth called a ^* peculiar people," in whose 
hearts has been this one ruling idea, '' We are 
not our own." They have sincerely felt that 
their time, their energies, their talents, their 
wealth, their souls and bodies, belonged to 
God, their Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer. 
Have we any sympathy with such feelings? 
Do we belong to this company? 



1 36 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 



CHAPTER XL 

THRESHING AND WINNOWING. 

SOON after the harvest is ended we find 
Boaz on the threshing-floor, guarding his 
threshed grain. This undesigned coincidence 
in the story of Ruth is worthy of notice. The 
grain must be threshed and disposed of, or 
stored away, immediately after harvest, that it 
may be more secure against the depredations 
of robbers. Besides, the vintage season soon 
follows the harvest, and if the threshing is left 
to be crowded in with that work, the early 
rains will come on, and the fruit of their toil 
would be wasted. Threshing was properly 
considered a part of the harvest work. The 
grain that Boaz was guarding was evidently 
just threshed, otherwise it would have been 
stored away in the garner. 

The threshing-floor was not within a well- 
covered barn, as with us, but out in some open 
space. The word translated barn in the Bible 
refers more properly to the store-house or 
granary, as we shall hereafter notice. We may 



Threshing and Winnowing, 137 

infer that the floor was uncovered from the 
allusion to Gideon's fleece : '^ Behold," said he, 
'^ I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, and 
if the dew be on the fleece only, and if it be 
dry upon all the earfh beside, then shall I know 
that thou w^ilt save Israel by my hand as thou 
hast said." No shelter was needed, because 
several months would elapse before there 
could be any possibility of rain. 

A space from fifty to a hundred feet in 
diameter was leveled off', and beaten hard, for 
the floor. If a floor of rock could be found 
it was all the better, providing the location 
would allow of a free current of wind for win- 
nowing. The most exposed portion of the 
Mount of Olives is used at present for this 
purpose ; so, also, the rocky bed of the pool of 
Gihon, and the deep gorge at the junction of 
the Kedron and Hinnom valleys. It was 
also desirable to locate it near a village or 
town, for mutual protection. The top of 
Mount Moriah, which was close to the citadel 
of the Jebusites, was once used for this pur- 
pose, (i Chron. xxi, 21.) 

A floor thus prepared, and suitably located, 

though owned by one man, would serve for a 

half dozen neighboring farmers, who would be 

more or less united with each other in their 
18 



138 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

work. It must be guarded at night against 
robbers and dishonest hired laborers. Hence 
we find even a rich proprietor, like Boaz, sleep- 
ing in such a place. This custom is still com- 
mon in that country. The writer, traveling 
with but three Arabs for protection, often 
found the vicinity of a threshing-floor the 
safest place at which to pitch his tent for the 
night ; and he frequently observed that whole 
families slept there, with no shelter but the 
canopy of the skies. This was also a place for 
bartering; other articles were brought thither 
to be exchanged for grain, and thence it was 
carried to distant markets. Here, too, was the 
tithing-place, (Deut. xv, 14,) whither the tax 
gatherer came to claim the Lord's portion. 

Thus from watching and working, from 
bartering and tithing, no little of the interest 
and life of the husbandman was centered about 
the threshing-floor. And as these floors, when 
once prepared, would be used for the same 
purpose for all time, they would eventually be- 
come important places. Pilgrims would halt 
by them for the night, and traffickers would 
resort to them for trading. Hence, when 
Joseph and his company were carrying the 
body of Jacob to Machpelah, they halted for 
seven days at the threshing-floor of Atad, on 



Threshing and Winnowing. 



139 



the borders of Canaan. (Gen. 1, 10.) It was 
while the ark rested at Nachon's threshing- 
floor that Uzzah, through his rashness, lost his 
life. (2 Sam. vi, 6.) So, too, when the king had 
sinned in numbering Israel, the destroying 
angel halted at the threshing-floor of Arau- 
nah, until David went thither and reared an 
altar to God. (2 Sam. xxiv, 16.) 

Four methods of threshing are probably al- 
luded to in Isaiah xxviii, 27, 28. The minor 
grains, such as fennel, cummin, and smaller 
quantities of wheat and barley, were beaten out 
with a '' staff"/' probably a flail such as is now 
used by us. 

The oldest process was by treading out the 




TREADING OUT THE GRAIN. 



grain with cattle. The sheaves were opened 
and spread out in a thick layer over the floor, 



140 Wheat frojfi the Fields of Boaz, 

and cattle, from four to six abreast, were driven 
around in a circle from right to left, the order 
being reversed alternately. Sometimes the 
traveler sees at this work an ox or a cow, a 
couple of camels, and a mule, with three or four 
donkeys following behind. The law of Moses 
must have been directed against this strange 
complication of animals in threshing, as well 
as in plowing, inasmuch as the horns of the 
oxen would have been of great annoyance to 
the ass or camel. 

This mode of treading out the grain is rep- 
resented in the Egyptian monuments. Cham- 
pollion found in a tomb at Eilethyra the fol- 
lowing scrap of a song of the threshers, written 
in hieroglyphics : 

* ' Thresh for yourselves, 
O oxen, thresh for yourselves, 
O oxen, thresh for yourselves ! 
Measure for yourselves. 
Measure for your masters." 

Moses says, ^'Thou shalt not muzzle the ox 
when he treadeth out the corn ;" a law of mercy 
for the ox, as well as because of his pre-emi- 
nent value to the husbandman. This freedom 
in such work is even now the rule in the East, 
though sometimes the muzzle is used by 
penurious masters. Paul, in allusion to this 



Threshing and Winnowing. 141 

law, intimates that there were some in the 
Church in his day who were not wilHng to 
make as ample provision for their pastor as 
God made for the ox while treading out the 
corn, (i Cor. ix, 9, 10.) 

Besides the process of treading, threshing 
instruments were undoubtedly in use near the 
time of Boaz, (2 Sam. xxiv, 22,) the patterns 
for which were brought from Egypt, and were 
similar to those now in use in Bible lands. 
One of these, more especially seen in Northern 
Syria, is a sledge four or five feet w^ide, and six 
or seven feet long, composed of thick plank, 
turned up in front to prevent the accumulation 
of straw. The under side is perforated with 
holes, into which sharp pieces of basaltic rock, 
about three inches long, are driven firmly as 
iron ; in some cases short iron spikes are used. 
This is drawn over the grain by cattle, the 
driver, a boy or a w^oman, standing on the 
machine to increase its weight. In addition 
to the tram^ping of the feet of the animals 
the rough under surface cuts up the straw as 
fine as chaff. Jehovah doubtless alludes to 
such a machine, (Isaiah xli, 15,) when he says, 
*' Behold, I will make thee as a new sharp 
threshing instrument having teeth ; thou shalt 
thresh the mountains and beat them small, 



142 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

and shalt make the hills as chaff.'* That the 
teeth were then sometimes made of iron ap- 
pears from Amos i, 3. 

Another machine, probably referred to in 
Isa. xxviii, 27, used in Southern Palestine and 




THRESHING. 
"The sharp threshing instrument " with toothed wheels. 

generally in Egypt, called the noreg, consists of 
a frame, in which three rollers are fixed, armed 
with plates of iron a few inches apart, which 
stand out from the rollers like so many circu- 
lar saws. The driver has a seat, like a chair, 
above the rollers, and uses the machine with 
oxen attached, as the other one spoken of. 
By this latter the straw is more thoroughly 
cut up, and frequently the grains of wheat are 
crushed and thus injured. The ** dust by the 
threshing" (2 Kings xiii, 7) was a result not so 
much of treading, as of the working of such a 
machine. 

Araunah's generosity in the gift to David of 



Threshing and Winnowing, 143 

one or more of such instruments shows how- 
ample would have been the supply of fuel for 
the sacrifice even of an ox. (2 Sam. xxiv, 22.) 
The straw by this process was so completely 
cut that it resembled chopped straw, and 
would thus be suitable fodder for cattle, (Gen. 
xxiv, 25 ; Isa. xi, 8,) and is yet used for this 
purpose. It is at present mixed with clay in 
brick making, and was, doubtless, the straw 
that Pharaoh refused to give to the Israelites, 
who were, therefore, compelled to gather as a 
substitute ''' stubble " from the fields. 

The Romans, who borrowed their ideas of 
husbandry from the Jews and Egyptians, made 
a threshing-machine like the sledge described, 
and called it a ^^ tr.ibulum^' from which origin- 
ated the word tribulation. Hence literally to 
endure tribulation is to be served as the grain is 
served — to have such a machine dragged over 
one — in other words, to undergo a sound 
threshing ; or, to carry the idea to its spiritual 
significance, it is to tear the chaff from the 
wheat, a process usually resorted to by the 
great Husbandman in dealing with his people. 
Said our Lord, ** In the world ye shall have 
tribulation." John xvi, 33. Paul taught that 
we must *^ through much tribulation" enter 
into the kingdom of God. (Acts xiv, 22.) 



144 WJieat from the Fields of Boaz. 

*' Tribulation worketh patience/* Rom. v, 3. 
And this process will be spoken of to the 
glory of God when all the good shall be 
gathered in the garner above : '^ These are 
they w^hich came out of great tribulation/' 

But the result is widely different when this 
same process is applied to the hopelessly im- 
penitent. Like the power of a conquering 
warrior (2 Kings xiii, 7) the divine judgments 
will come upon them. *^ Thou didst march 
through the land in indignation, thou didst 
thresh the heathen in anger.** Hab. iii, 12. 
'^ The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing- 
floor, it is time to thresh her.*' Jer. li, 33. To 
Zion the exhortation is, '^ Arise and thresh, O 
daughter of Zion, for I will make thy horn 
iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and 
thou shalt beat in pieces many people.*' Micah 
iv, 13. '' Thou shalt thresh the mountains and 
beat them small, and shalt make the hills as 
chaff." Isa. xli, 15. 

In the process of winnozving a space is cleared 
on the floor, and the dust is swept or blown 
off; then the grain is tossed up against 
the wind, so that, while the wheat falls back 
on the floor, the chaff is carried away and 
forms another heap at a little distance. The 



Threshing and Winnowing, 



145 




WINXOWIXG. 



fan of the Bible was simply the wooden fork 
or shovel with which the grain was tossed up. 
The Egyptian monuments represent these as 
wooden scoops or short- 
handled shovels. This 
process was probably 
going on before the eye 
of John the Baptist, the 
farmer tossing up the 
grain, the wind blowing, 
and the dust and chaff 
flying, when he de- 
scribed with such force 
the mission of our Lord 
to separate and purify : ^^ Whose fan is in his 
hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor.'* 
Matt, iii, 12. 

References to the wind which drives away the 
chaff are numerous in the Bible. The sea- 
breeze, which sets in about nine or ten o'clock 
in the morning, and reaches far into the inte- 
rior of the country, is at its height about three 
o'clock in the afternoon. This is the period of 
the greatest activity on the threshing-floor ; all 
hands are busy, and the ** chaff is flying before 
the wind." Isaiah (xli, 16) speaks of '* whirl- 
winds " in connection with this work, and it is 

a fact that whirling currents of air, which carry 
19 ' 



14<5 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

the dust and chaff in wild confusion, are ex- 
tremely common at this season, especially on 
the plains. 

The small particles of stone, earth, and oth- 
er impurities were separated from the grain by 
the use of a sieve, (Amos ix, 9,) after which it 
underwent the final purification from dust by 
pouring it out before the wind from hand 
shovels or baskets. 

Much striking imagery of the Bible is drawn 
from winnowing. As threshing represents the 
crushing power of the divine judgments, win- 
nowing sets forth their separating work in re- 
gard to the wicked. ^^ Lo, I will command, 
and I will sift the house of Israel among all 
nations like as corn is sifted in a sieve.'* Amos 
ix, 9. *^ He shall separate the wheat from the 
chaff." Matt, iii, 12. Let the reader place him- 
self by an open threshing-floor, where the beat- 
en chaff flies before the wind, and he will have 
some idea of God's view of the utter vanity of 
the wicked. ^' They are like chaff which the 
wind driveth away." Psa. i, 4. ^*As chaff that 
is driven with a whirlwind out of the floor." 
Hosea xiii, 3. '' What is the chaff to the 
wheat?" Jer. xxiii, 28. It is utterly worthless 
— fit only to be consumed with fire — and when 
once the torch is applied, what human power 



Threshing and Winnowing. 



H7 



can stay the flame ! *' So," says God's word, 
'' shall it be with the wicked/' '^ He shall 
gather together the wheat into the garner, 
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable 
fire." 




148 Wheat from the Fields of Boaii. 



CHAPTER XII. 

BUSHELS AND BARNS. 

BOAZ poured intp Ruth's vail, at the thresh- 
ing-floor, '' six measures of barley,*' and 
thus sent her home rejoicing. In this act he 
was as prudent as he was kind. Grain was his 
wealth, and when in his generosity he gave to 
the needy, he as naturally counted the num- 
ber of measures as we in a like act would 
count the number of dollars. Even Solomon, 
in his royal munificence, counted out the forty 
thousand measures of grain he sent to King 
Hiram, (i Kings v, i.i.) 

When the grain was threshed and cleaned 
it was important to know the result of the 
harvest by measurement, both for tithing and 
for a satisfactory estimate of one's own wealth. 
The denominations of grain measure were the 
cab^ mentioned only in 2 Kings vi, 25, and re- 
ferred to elsewhere as the tenth part of an 
ephah ; the seah^ translated in the common 
version *^ measure," because it was the ordi- 
nary household measure, (Matt, xiii, 33 ; Luke 



Bushels and Barns, 149 

xiii, 21,) the epkah, and the homer. The ephah 
was an Egyptian measure, and is spoken of 
most frequently in the Bible in connection 
with grain. 

Various natural and familiar objects, doubt- 
less, originally suggested the relative denomi- 
nations of weight and measure. Thus the 
Scriptures speak of the '* finger's breadth,** 
(Jer. Hi, 21,) the '*span,'* (Exod. xxviii, 16,) 
the *' hand-breadth," (Exod. xxv, 25 ;) just as 
in English we have the *' grain,'* the ''barley- 
corn," the '' foot," etc. Weights and measures 
were, doubtless, reduced to fixed standards at 
a very early day, as we may infer from the al- 
lusion to ''just weights " and "just measures." 
It is probable that Moses deposited standards 
of these in the tabernacle, and that Solomon 
transferred them to the temple. A verse in 
Proverbs intimates that they were established 
by the direct inspiration of God. "A just 
weight and balances are the Lord's, and the 
weights in the bag are his ivorkT Prov. xvi, 11. 
It is supposed by some that one of the pur- 
poses of the great pyramid in Egypt was that 
such standards might be placed within its v,ery 
center, and thus be as enduring as the pyramid 
itself. 

It is difficult from the meager data given 



I go Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

in the Bible to reduce the denominations to 
English measure. The most careful estimate 
establishes that the ephah was equal to about 
three and a half pecks. As the homer was 
said to be one tenth of the ephah, (Ezek. 
xlv, II,) this also may be established. The 
seah, or " measure,'' is supposed to have been 
equal to one peck and one pint. Hence, Boaz 
poured into Ruth's vail as a gift over a bushel 
and a half of barley. (Ruth iii, 15.) 

The Egyptians, as their monuments show, 
were accustomed to keep very accurate ac- 
counts of the number of bushels of all their 
products ; and they were careful in measuring 
their grain, because it was their chief article 
of commerce. During the seven years of 
plenty (Gen. xli, 47) Joseph had charge of this 
business, and " his labors," says Hengstenberg, 
** are placed vividly before us in the paintings 
on the monuments. In a tomb at Eilethyra a 
man is represented whose business it evidently 
was to take the account of the number of 
bushels which another man, acting under him, 
measures. The inscription is Thutnope — the 
writer or registrar of bushels. Then follows 
the transportation of the grain. From the 
measurer others take it in sacks to the store- 
houses." Rosellini has a copy of a painting 



Bushels and Barns. 151 

from a tomb at Beni Hassan, and remarks of 
it: ** In this scene, as also in many others 
which exhibit the internal economy of a house, 
a man carries implements for writing — the pen 
over his ear, the tablet or paper in his hand, 
and the writing table under his arm/' Who 
can doubt but this is the registrar? Read, in 
connection with this, the sacred narrative : 
'^ And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the 
sea, very much, until he left numbering ; for it 
was without number/' Gen. xli, 49. The pict- 
ures may not refer to Joseph, but they vividly 
describe his occupation as Pharaoh's steward. 
The reader cannot have failed to notice how 
much the Bible speaks of just weights and 
measures. In Deut. xxv, 15, God says : '* Thou 
shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect 
and just measure thou shalt have." In the 
book of Proverbs there are such sayings as 
this : ** A false balance is abomination to 
the Lord ; but a just weight is his delight." 
Prov. xi, I. Nor did the prophets always 
dwell on the coming of Christ, and the dark 
destiny of wicked nations ; they frequently 
came down to the common-place questions 'of 
honest dealing in the use of weights and meas- 
ures. ^'Ye shall have just balances." Ezek. 
xlv, 10. Micah asks : '* Are there yet the 



152 Wheat from the Fields ofBoaz, 

treasures of wickedness in the house of the 
wicked, and the scant measure that is abomi- 
nable? Shall I count them pure with the 
wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful 
weights?*' Micah vi, 10, 11. Amos (viii, 4, 5) 
exclaims : ^^ Hear this, O ye that swallow up 
the needy, even to make the poor of the land 
to fail, saying. When will the new-moon be 
gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sab- 
bath, that we may set forth wheat ? making 
the ephah small, and the shekel great." By 
giving short measure and taking heavy weight 
for pay, they are charged with cheating both 
ways. Such and kindred words were addressed 
to a nation of no very extensive commercial 
connections. Grain, sheep, and olive oil v/ere 
their principal articles of trade. 

But who is so blind as not to see from this 
that God notices our business transactions, as 
well as our closet devotions ? The Bible is not 
a book to be read simply on Sunday; it has to 
do with the things we handle every day of 
the week. The same God who has in wisdom 
and mercy provided a Saviour for the lost, 
also looks into the thoughts and motives of 
men on both sides of the counter — at the seller 
and the buyer. He who says, "^ Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," 



Bushels and Barns. 153 

issues also the practical injunction, ^^A false 
balance is abomination to the Lord : but a 
just weight is his delight." When a bushel 
of produce is measured he looks into and 
around the bushel to see if it is a just meas- 
ure. When a pound of coffee is weighed, his 
eye scans the balances and his unerring hand 
tests the weights. 

Many years ago the citizens of a European 
city placed over the commercial exchange the 
following inscription, " Let the city prosper by 
the blessing of God." The weather, or time, 
broke off the latter three words; and it is said 
that no one has since taken the trouble to re- 
place them. Perhaps the other part of the 
inscription was afterward deemed sufficient. 
Yet it should never be forgotten that honest 
dealing is God's delight, and that without his 
favor there can be no true prosperity. 

Does any one ask how he can make his 
business a part of his religion ? Here is one 
way, to remember that '' the eyes of the Lord 
are in every place, beholding the evil and the 
good ; " that God has to do with day-books and 
ledgers as well as books of devotion ; with 
market places, stores, and workshops, as well 
as with closets, pews, and pulpits. He is every- 
where as a carefully observant witness, in all 
20 



154 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

the transactions of life. Jacob exclaimed at 
Bethel, ^' Surely the Lord is in this place ; and 
I knew it not. . . . How dreadful is this place ! 
this is none other but the house of God, and 
this is the gate of heaven/* Gen. xxviii, 
i6, 17. Had he felt before this time that the 
Lord was in his father's house at Beersheba, 
he might have been spared that heavy burden 
of lying and deceit that weighed him down 
on that journey from his home. 

Boaz must guard his grain on the threshing- 
floor until it is either sold or stored away. 
BarnSy such as we understand by that term, 
have never been known in Bible lands. The 
nearest approach to these was the store-house, 
or granary. King Hezekiah built ^' store-houses 
also for the increase of corn,'' (2 Chron. xxxii, 
28 ; ) and it is likely such were built for Pharaoh 
by the Israelites during their bondage in Egypt. 
(Exod. i, II.) ChampoUion thinks the wide 
halls of the great palace at Thebes were used 
for such a purpose. The building is surround- 
ed by large colonnades, each of which has on it 
the name Manosh, meaning the place of har- 
vest, or the place where corn was measured. 

In Gen. xli, 48-56, we learn that Joseph 
built and filled such store-houses all over 
Egypt, as a preparation for the great famine. 



Bushels and Barns. 



155 



Nor are we left to guess as to their appearance 
and use ; the monumental inscriptions make 
these clear. They consisted of a series of 
vaulted chambers, with an opening at the top 




GRANARIES. 
" Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea." 

to receive the grain, and a little sliding door 
at the bottom, to take it out when needed. 
Men carried the grain in sacks up a flight of 
steps to the top of the vault. 

'*At Beni Hassan,** says Hengstenberg, 
** there is a painting of a great store-house, be- 
fore the door of which lies a large heap of 
grain, already winnowed. The measurer filjs a 
bushel in order to pour it into the sacks of 
those who carry the grain to the granary. 
The bearers go to the door of the store-house, 



1 5^ Wheat from the Fields of Boa^, 

and lay down their sacks before an officer, 
who stands ready to receive the corn. This is 
the owner of the store. Near by stands the 
bushel with which it is measured, and the reg- 
istrar who takes the account. At the side of 
the windows there are characters which in- 
dicate the quantity of the mass which is de- 
posited in the magazine.'' 

But all such store-houses were used by kings 
as depositories for large quantities of grain, to 
enable them to endure a siege or a famine. 
Those constructed by individual farmers, 
usually called barns in the Bible, were cisterns 
or wells, dug in the side of a hill, or where the 
soil is dry. At present in Palestine they are 
shaped like immense jars, ten or twelve feet 
in diameter, and are lined with cement. The 
top is rounded to an opening of about fifteen 
inches in diameter, which is ceiled 'with plaster 
and covered over with soil to conceal the lo- 
cality. Grain may be kept perfectly dry in 
these for years. It is thus not only concealed 
from lawless plunderers, and extortionate tax- 
gatherers, but also preserved from rats, mice, 
and ants ; which latter are quite a formidable 
enemy. The ant gathers her food in harvest, 
(Prov. vi, 8,) and every farmer suffers more 
or less by this tiny robber. 



Bushels and Barns, 157 

By these subterraneous store-houses the 
farmer is also enabled to provide against the 
uncertainties of the season and the fluctuations 
of the market. Should the place be forgotten 
it may be discovered by the hollow sound of 
the earth, or by the verdure, which loses its 
freshness over the cisterns in the dry months. 
Such were, doubtless, the store-houses alluded 
to by the ten who saved their lives by telling 
Ishmael that they had treasures in the field, of 
wheat and of barley and of oil and of honey. 
(Jer. xli, 8.) It was great forethought and 
self-possession on their part. The secret of 
these treasures was only known to themselves, 
and their lives had to be spared to enable 
them to find these places. 

Many such pits, now abandoned and broken 
in, are yet seen in the vicinity of the ruins of 
ancient cities. The prophet foresaw such a 
state of things when he exclaimed, '' The gar- 
ners are laid desolate, the barns are broken 
down.'* Joel i, 17. These ruined pits are so 
numerous in some localities that it is danger- 
ous for travelers to go among them, especially 
after night. They are spoken of in the Bible 
in a way showing that accidents often occurred 
from falling into them, and, therefore, that 
they were numerous then, as now. 



158 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

Store-houses were often constructed under 
the most retired portion of the house, for greater 
safety. This is referred to in 2 Sam. iv, 6, 
when it is said that the sons of Rimmon came 
^^ into the midst of the house, as though they 
would have fetched wheat.'' Jonathan and 
Ahimaaz eluded their pursuers by concealing 
themselves in one of these grain pits located 
under the house. *' They went both of them 
away quickly, and came to a man's house in 
Bahurim which had a well in his court ; whither 
they went down. And the woman took and 
spread a covering over the well's mouth, and 
spread ground corn thereon ; and the thing 
was not known." 2 Sam. xvii, 18, 19. 

Such barns were familiar to our Lord, as we 
learn from the parable of the rich worldling. 
Luke xii, 18. The man did not propose to 
let the old barns remain and build new ones, 
because it would save time and expense if he 
should enlarge those already excavated. Hence 
he says, *' I will pull down my barns ;" that is, 
break down the cement, and enlarge them. 
Nor could he be charged with folly for this. 
His sin was his extreme selfishness and world- 
liness. God had prospered him beyond his 
expectations, but it set him at once to think- 
ing about greater barns, instead of honoring 



Bushels and Barns. 1 59 

God with the first-fruits of the harvest. It 
should have made him think more of God, but 
it made him think more of self and worldly 
enjoyment. *' Soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, 
and be merry/* And while he was planning 
for long years, God had planned the taking 
away of his soul. *' This night thy soul shall 
be required of thee.*' Luke xii, 20. 

A man may have full barns, long life, and 
the divine favor as well. Hundreds of years 
before the Saviour spoke that parable he had 
established the law of the divine favor. David 
knew of it, and he says, '^ Send thine hand from 
above ; . . . that our garners may be full, afford- 
ing all manner of store." Psa. cxliv, 7, 1 3. And 
David's royal son more clearly sets it forth : 
*^ Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with 
the first-fruits of all thine increase : so shall 
thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses 
shall burst out with new wine." Prov. iii, 9, 10. 
Boaz had, doubtless, learned this law, and he 
had a heart to put it in practice, as we conclude 
from his liberal provision for the Lord's poor ; 
and here lies one of the sources of his pros- 
perity. 



l6o Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

TITHES AND TRAFFIC. 

C"*^ RAIN was usually tithed before it was 
^ removed from the floor. In tithing sheep 
the custom was to inclose them in a pen, and 
as they went out at the opening every tenth 
animal was marked for the Lord with a rod 
dipped in vermilion. (Lev. xxvii, 32.) This was 
the '' passing under the rod.'* So with grain, 
as the measurer counted out the number of 
bushels, at every tenth he called out, *' This for 
the Lord ;'' and it was either put aside to be 
devoted to sacred use, or the amount was es- 
timated, and its equivalent paid in money into 
the Lord's treasury. 

The obligation to give to the Lord one tenth 
of the income was recognized long before it 
was enacted as a law. Abraham gave tithes, 
(Heb. vii, 2, 6,) and Jacob vowed that the 
Lord should have one tenth of all his property. 
(Gen. xxviii, 22.) Moses simply sanctioned 
tithing, and defined it more clearly. (Lev. xxvii, 
30-33.) This law of giving is not directly 



Tithes and Traffic, i6l 

spoken of in the Gospel dispensation, but the 
spirit of giving is there made even more prom- 
inent than Moses made it. It would be inter- 
esting to know to what extent even one tenth 
of the income of every Christian is devoted to 
sacred uses. There is reason to believe that 
comparatively few Christian farmers and busi- 
ness men conscientiously say of one tenth, 
** This for the Lord.*' 

The taxes in the time of Boaz were compar- 
atively a light burden. The ^* tithes/' the 
'' festival tithes," the '' first-fruits," the '' re- 
demption money," and some offerings on spe- 
cial occasions, were the only payments annu- 
ally required. But when, in later years, the 
people demanded a king, with all the magnifi- 
cence of royalty, they did not realize the ex- 
pense of such a luxury. But splendid retinue, 
and war and court officers, made their taxes 
more oppressive every year ; so that by the 
time Solomon's reign of outward splendor was 
ended the complaints of an overburdened peo- 
ple went up to the throne, saying, "^ Make 
thou the grievous service of thy father, and his 
heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and 
we will serve thee." i Kings xii, 4. And when 
the king answered them with still heavier bur- 
dens, they rebelled ; and the one officer which 



1 62 Wheat frojn the Fields of Boaz, 

they hated and stoned to death was Adoram, 
*' who was over the tribute." i Kings xii, i8. 

To taxes for government was added tribute 
to conquering kings, so that it became at length 
an absorbing question to rulers as to how much 
money they could wring from the people with- 
out encountering a revolt. When the Romans 
took possession of Judea, their policy was to 
farm out to the highest bidder the privilege of 
collecting the taxes. The original officers of 
the revenue were Roman knights, of consider- 
able rank and dignity ; their agents, the com- 
mon collectors of tribute, were the publicans. 
These not only collected according to the ex- 
orbitant scale fixed by their superiors, but en- 
deavored to exceed this, that they might have 
a margin for themselves. Hence, as a class, 
they were noted for imposition, rapine, and ex- 
tortion. (Luke iii, 13.) They even sometimes 
brought false accusations against individuals 
for smuggling, that they might extort hush- 
money. (Luke xix, 8.) 

If a dispute arose as to the legality of their 
extortionate demands, there was little redress 
for the citizens from the officers of the law, for, 
being appointees of the Roman Government, 
their decisions were invariably given in favor 
of the publicans. Hence these tax-gatherers 



Tithes and Traffic. 163 

became a new curse to the overtaxed nation. 
They were held in the utmost contempt and 
odium by the people. A Jew who accepted 
the office was despised by his countrymen, was 
forbidden to enter the synagogues, and if he 
offered a present for the temple it was rejected 
with loathing. Even though our Lord so often 
expressed his sympathy with this despised 
class, he confirmed the justice of the opinion 
in which they were held. ** If ye love them 
which love you, what reward have ye? do not 
even the publicans the same ? '* Matt, v, 46. 
'' If he neglect to hear the church, let him be 
unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.'* 
Matt, xviii, 17. 

As the products of the field were the prin- 
cipal source of revenue, we can easily see how 
bitter must have been the murmurings and 
severe the disputes at the threshing-floor, as in 
the tithing the bushels of wheat were counted 
out to the publicans. There was no greater 
source of demoralization and discouragement 
to the farmer than this oppressive system. It 
would seem as if the more a man raised, the 
poorer he became. Thus, under the yoke^ of 
home and foreign oppressions, we see the force 
of the people's longing for the good old days 
of the theocracy, when taxes were only tithes, 



1^4 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

and when what was paid was given to the 
Lord as a recognition of his bounty and the 
privileges of his sanctuary. Even at present, 
under the tyrannical government of the Turks, 
the same oppressive system of collecting the 
taxes is allowed ; the same abandoned class 
practice their extortions, and the bitter dis- 
putes of thousands of years ago are re-enacted 
on the modern threshing-floor. And, what is 
worse, farmers are required at times to delay 
their threshing for the convenience of the tax- 
gatherers ; so that the owner must often watch 
his crop on the floor for months, night and day, 
and even provide a shelter from the early rains, 
or lose the result of his toils. 

Wheat was often sold directly from the floor y 
because to convert it into money would be 
safer than to risk its falling into the hands of 
robbers, or an invading army. Sometimes it 
was exposed for sale at the gate-way, which 
was the usual market-place for this and other 
products. (Neh. xiii, 15.) 

Egypt was the most extensive grain-export- 
ing country spoken of in the Bible, and we 
may imagine the stirring scenes that must have 
occurred at her treasure cities and sea-ports, 
especially during the times of great famine. 
The cry for bread is heard among all the sur- 



Tithes and Traffic, 



i6s 



rounding nations. Long trains of camels are 
hastening from her cities, and fleets of vessels 



'vt ^ . ' ^-:g^^>^^"-^^ 




MEASURING GKAIN. 

" Give g-ood measure. "With what measure ye mete it 
shall be measured to you again." 

leave her sea-ports, all eager to carry home the 
precious supply for the starving millions. 

Next to Egypt, Palestine was the most im- 
portant grain-exporting country. Even ^s 
early as the time of Boaz — which, let it be re- 
membered, was soon after the division of the 
land by Joshua— trade was carried on from the 



1 66 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

interior with the sea-port towns, especially 
with those of Phenicia. (Judges v, i8.) 

During Solomon's splendid reign the re- 
sources of the country were so developed 
that he was able to send to King Hiram, for 
the temple workmen hewing wood on Mount 
Lebanon, twenty thousand cors of wheat and 
twenty thousand cors of barley, which, if the es- 
timate of a cor is correct, would be more than 
eight times that number of bushels. Doubt- 
less Solomon's fleets from Ezion-Geber took 
out principally wheat to be exchanged for the 
luxuries of the distant East, with which he en- 
riched his palaces. He built also Palmyra, on 
the great caravan route to the countries east 
and north of Jerusalem, that his immense trade 
in that direction might have a convenient halt- 
ing-place on the borders of the desert. So 
great was the wealth of Palestine at this time, 
which came mainly from the products of the 
land, that silver became so common in Jeru- 
salem " it was nothing accounted of.'' i Kings 
X, 21-27. 

Amos (viii, 5) speaks of commerce in wheat as 
the all-absorbing business of the people. Eze- 
kiel tells us that wheat was the commodity that 
Tyre sought from Judea. ** Judah, and the 
land of Israel, they were thy merchants ; they 



Tithes and Traffic. 167 

traded in thy market wheat of Minnith/' 
Ezek. xxvii, 17. And centuries later we are 
told that Tyre and Sidon desired peace with 
Herod, *' because their country was nourished 
by the king's country." Acts xii, 20. At the 
present day, even with the impoverished con- 
dition of the land, long trains of camels are 
met, bearing wheat from the rich plains of Gali- 
lee and Esdraelon to the ports of Kaiffa and 
Acre. Merchants from these ports usually go 
to Nazareth to make their purchases. They 
may be seen almost any evening seated at the 
gate-way with grain-dealers, the board of 
trade of that city. Their camels are lying 
outside the gate, waiting to bear away their 
burdens. 

Modern research has thrown light on the 
passage in Ezekiel referring to the wheat of 
Minnith, so much prized by the Tyrian mer- 
chants. Minnith is spoken of as in the vicinity 
of twenty cities, and near the ** plain of the vine- 
yards." Judges xi, 33. The best authorities 
locate it in the country of the Amorites, near 
Heshbon, east of the Dead Sea. Doubtless 
this was the very '' land of the vineyards " near 
which Balaam encountered the angel of the 
Lord, (Num. xxii, 24,) and the same in which 
from the neighboring hills he saw the camp 



1 68 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 



of Israel, when he exclaimed, ^* How goodly 
are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O 
Israel ! As the valleys are they spread forth, 
as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of 
lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as 
cedar-trees beside the waters." Num. xxiv, 5, 6. 
All modern accounts represent that locality as 
most beautiful and productive. Mr. Tristram 
says, *' At the time of our visit, the end of 
April, the whole country around Menyah was 
one sea of wheat, just ready for the sickle. 

Later in the year we saw 
caravans conveying the 
wheat of Belka to the 
coast. Much of the 
wheat of this district is 
of the very prolific 
bearded variety called 
Heshbon wheat, with 
several ears on one stalk, 
and is, doubtless, the 
' wheat of Minnith,' ** so 
famous in Old Testament times. 

In transporting grain it was put in sacks 
composed of a coarse, dark-colored material of 
goats* hair. The Egyptian monuments repre- 
sent them to have been of uniform size, per- 
haps for convenience in estimating quantities 




WHEAT OF MINNITH. 



Tithes and Traffic. 169 

of grain, as well as in loading the sacks on the 
backs of camels. Joseph's brethren used them 
for carrying both their wheat and their provis- 
ions. (Gen. Ixii, 25.) The Gibeonites, to de- 
ceive Joshua, took old weather-beaten sacks 
on their beasts, to make it appear that they 
had come from a far country. (Josh, ix, 4.) 

The material of the sacks was called *' sack- 
cloth,*' and as such is frequently spoken of in 
the Bible. Coarse garments made of it were 
worn on occasions of mourning and humiliation. 
Jacob put on sackcloth when he mourned for 
Joseph. (Gen. xxxvii, 34.) David and the 
elders clothed themselves in it when they saw 
their sin in numbering Israel, (i Chron. xxi, 16.) 
The inhabitants of Nineveh put it on when, by 
the preaching of Jonah, they were threatened 
with destruction. (Jonah iii, 8.) 

It was usually made into a loose outer gar- 
ment like the abia, and confined to the body 
by a girdle of the same material. (Isa. iii, 24; 
Ezek. vii, 18.) In extreme cases these rough 
garments were made close-fitting, and worn 
next to the skin. Job says, '* I have sewed 
sackcloth upon my skin." Job xvi, 15. So when 
Ahab was humbled, for the time being, at the 
reproof of Elijah he ** rent his clothes, and put 
sackcloth upon his flesh." I Kings xxi, 27. 



I/O Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

This hair-cloth was almost equal to our gutta- 
percha for turning water, and was, therefore, 
used for tents. Such was the material used 
by the patriarchs. (Gen. xviii, i.) Paul in early 
life learned to stitch this coarse material in 
tent-making, and in later years many a mid- 
night hour found him hard at work, that he 
might be chargeable to no man. (i Thess. ii, 9.) 
The color of the cloth furnished some ex- 
pressive imagery. Thus Jehovah, speaking of 
his majesty, perhaps in a thunder storm, says, 
^^ I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I 
make sackcloth their covering." Isaiah 1, 3. 
John, speaking of the end of the world, says, 
** The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, 
and the moon became as blood." Rev. vi, 12. 
The Bedouins of to-day make their tents of 
this same material, as perhaps their ancestors, 
the Kedarites, did thousands of years ago. 
Looking from the heights of Jezreel at a large 
encampment of these, located along the base 
of Mount Tabor, with the background of green 
foliage, the traveler is reminded of the ex- 
pression, '* Black, but comely, ... as the tents 
of Kedar." Song of Sol., i, 5. 



Gr hiding. 171 



CHAPTER XIV. 
GRINDING. 

THE scene of our observations is henceforth 
transferred from the fields of Boaz to 
his house. We shall, doubtless, be interested 
in noticing some of the domestic processes by 
which his grain became bread. But, perhaps, 
my reader will say, Why speak of grinding as a 
domestic process? Could not mills and 
millers do that work? Possibly they could 
had they had an existence in those days. But 
it should be remembered that many of the 
trades and occupations deemed so essential 
with us were entirely unknown in Bible times. 
There were butlers, bakers, etc., that were 
attached to kings* households ; but these, with 
shoemakers, tailors, millers, milliners, dress- 
makers, and many other trades, were unthought 
of as distinct branches of business. The work 
of such persons belonged, in the main, to *in- 
dividual households, and most of it was as- 
signed to the women. Thus the mother of 
King Lemuel would commend to her son a 



1 72 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 



true woman, who could work in wool and flax, 
was skillful in handling the spindle and distaff, 
and could make for her own household fine 
linen and scarlet garments, so that she w^ould 
not be ashamed of her husband's appearance 
when he sat in the gateway with the elders. 
(Prov. xxxi.) And Abraham, wealthy as he 
was, was his own butcher, while Sarah his wife 
was the baker for the household. (Gen. xviii, 
6, 7, 8.) Grinding was a domestic duty. 

Doubtless in the earliest ages the grain was 
broken between two stones. Then it would 
be suggested that the under stone might be 
hollowed out to retain the 
grain, and that the upper 
one, with which the pound- 
ing was done, might be 
shaped for convenience in 
handling. Hence the 
mortar and the pestle. 
The Israelites in their 
journey from Egypt 
carried a mortar, among 
MORTAR AND PESTLE, othcr csscntlal household 
articles, in which they pounded the manna. 
(Num. xi, 8.) The Bedouins of to-day use a 
mortar made of wood or stone, for crushing 
grain, coffee, spices, and olive berries, and 




Grinding, 1 73 

son*etimes they pound in it tough meat before 
cooking. 

The use of the mortar suggested one of the 
proverbs of the Hebrew people, ^'Though thou 
shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat, 
with a pestle, yet will not his fooHshness 
depart from him." Prov. xxvii, 22. Various 
explanations have been given of this singular 
allusion. It was once the custom of the 
Turks to put criminals to death by pounding 
them in a large mortar used for hulling rice. 
An old writer tells us that when they con- 
demned lawyers for a capital offense, they 
treated them to this refined mode of exit. 
And some have supposed that the proverb 
referred to this . practice ; but there are no 
traces of such a punishment among the 
Hebrews. Others have thought that, as barley 
or inferior wheat was sometimes pounded with 
good wheat, the allusion was to this, and they 
would paraphrase it thus : ^^ Let a fool be ever 
so much in the company of the wise, he will 
still remain a fool.*' But as by the use of the 
mortar grain was hulled, the proverb probably 
means, Though you may separate, by pounding, 
the chaff from the grain, or the bran from the 
flour, yet it is impossible, even by this severe 
process, to pound out folly from a fool. 



174 Wheat from the Fields of Boa$. 

It must have been a great event when some 
one conceived the idea of crushing the grain 
between two stones, by causing the one to re- 
volve above the other. The hand-mill has 
been a household utensil from great antiquity. 
The Egyptians used it. (Exod. xi\ 5.) Moses 
and Job speak of it, (Deut. xxiv, 6 ; Job xli, 24 ;) 
the Chaldeans set their captives to grinding 
with it. (Lam. v, 13.) Such mills may be seen, 
in the very position in which they were used, 
among the relics of the buried city of Pompeii, 
and hence were common among the Romans 
near two thousand years ago ; our Anglo- 
Saxon ancestors used them ; and they are still 
common in China, Africa, Syria, and generally 
in all the East. Nor has their construction 
been different from the time they were repre- 
sented on the monuments in Egypt to the 
present day. Indeed, those used by us pro- 
pelled by steam or water are the same in 
the principle of their construction. 

This mill consists of 

two circular stones, 

from eighteen inches 

to two feet in diam- 

SECTioN OF A MILLSTONE, etcr— ouc couvcx and 

the other concave. The upper one, called in 

Arabic rekkab, (rider,) rests on the convex top 




Grinding. 175 

of the under stone. An iron pivot runs 
through the center of the latter, to retain the 
former in its position. The upper stone, which 
alone revolves, has a wooden handle fixed in a 
socket, near the edge, by which it is turned. 
In the grinding, two women sit facing each 
other; the one sends the stone around and 
the other sends it back, so that by a quick 
pull and a slight push, as in using a cross- 
cut saw, it is kept revolving with great rapid- 
ity. The grain is dropped into a small hole in 
the center of the upper stone, with the left 
hand. As it is ground, the meal falls over 
the slightly projecting rim of the under stone, 
on a piece of sackcloth spread out to re- 
ceive it. 

The ancient Egyptians sometimes used a 
much larger mill made on the same principle, 
which was turned by cattle or asses, as we 
infer from their paintings ; such mills were 
also used in the time of our Saviour, as the 
original reading in Matt, xviii, 6, would in- 
dicate. 

Grinding by the hand-mill is almost always 
referred to in Scripture as the work of 
women ; and it is to this day, all over the 
East, their most common household duty. 
Thus a native woman of Africa tenderly com- 



176 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

miserates the forlorn condition of Park, the 
traveler : — 

" The poor white man, faint and weary, 
Came and sat under our tree ; 
He has no mother to bring him milk. 
Nor wife to grind him corn. 
Let us pity the white man ; 
No mother has he to bring him milk, 
Nor wife to grind him corn." 

Let US look in upon the home of the Beth- 
lehemite farmer, as his morning repast is being 
prepared. Though he is a man of wealth, there 
is no ostentatious display in the external ap- 
pearance of his house. A square dingy wall 
extends around four sides, with but one door 
entering from the street. The door is low, to 
prevent the incursions of robbers, also to avoid 
an external appearance of wealth. " He that 
exalteth his gate seeketh destruction." Prov. 
xvii, 19. We enter, and find ourselves in an 
open court, or yard. For privacy, the front 
of the house faces toward this inner court. 
Trees are growing here, on which birds sing ; 
vines climb up the walls ; a well of water, or a 
fountain, is in the center. And yonder, in one 
corner of the court, is the most important 
utensil of the house — the hand-mill. 

Shall we pity Boaz? He has, as yet, **no 
wife to grind him corn," but willing servants 



Grinding, 177 

do his bidding, and are up before it is yet 
light (Prov. xxxi, 15) to engage in their work. 
As bread could not long be kept fresh and 
wholesome in that climate, it must be baked 
every day ; hence grinding is the first and 
daily task. And now the two women are be- 
fore the mill. Listen to the clear, ringing 
sound of the revolving stones, and the song 
of the grinders, by which they keep time, and 
relieve the tedium of their work. 

This familiar " sound of the mill ** is often 
alluded to in the Bible as a sign of a cheerful, 
joyous, and plentiful home. As the darkened 
window with us is an indication of sorrow, so 
when the sound of the grinding was not heard 
at a house the neighbors feared that all was 
not well within. Hence (Eccles. xii, 4) the 
cessation of this sound is spoken of as an em- 
blem of decrepitude, and the near approach 
of death. This silence also afforded a most ex- 
pressive figure for the utter destruction that 
was denounced against Judah. Thus Jehovah 
says : — 

" I will take from them 

The voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, 
The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. 
The sound of the millstone, and the light of the candle. 
And the whole land shall be a desolation and an astonish- 
menty — Jer. xxv, lo, 

23 



178 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

In the Apocalypse we have the same forci- 
ble allusion, descriptive of the fall and com- 
plete desolation of the spiritual Babylon : '* The 
sound of a millstone shall be heard no more 
at all in thee/' Rev. xviii, 22. 

Looking at the two women thus engaged in 
their work, we see how true to life was our 



GRINDING. 
"Two women shall be grinding at the mill." 

Saviour's allusion to them in speaking of the 
destruction of Jerusalem. (Matt, xxiv, 41.) 



Grinding. 179 

The traveler in Syria sees more force in this 
sublime lesson, as illustrated by this familiar 
occupation, than he could learn from a whole 
volume of commentary. The two, when grind- 
ing, are so dependent one upon the other, that 
their lives seem almost blended into one. With 
what force the words of Christ must have im- 
pressed his Jewish hearers, concerning the 
suddenness of the destruction of the city, 
and the certainty that no one should escape. 
They teach the same lesson to all concern- 
ing his second coming — ^* Therefore be ye also 
ready." 

From the position of those who grind it 
would be natural to speak of them as being 
bcliind the mill. This explains the expression 
in Exodus xi, 5, concerning the pestilence, 
which was to *^ destroy from the first-born of 
Pharaoh that sitteth upon the throne, even to 
the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind 
the iniliy 

We read in Judges ix, 53, that a woman 
threw a piece of a millstone on the head of 
Abimelech while he was trying to set on fire 
the tower of the city of Thebez. She was, per- 
haps, grinding at the time ; at least, the mill was 
at hand, and, lifting the upper stone from the 
pivot, she climbed to the top of the tower, 



l8o Wheat froin tJie Fields of Boaz. 

and, dashing it down, crushed the skull of her 
victim. 

The size of the millstone made it suitable 
as an instrument of punishment. The Ro- 
mans frequently fastened it to the neck of 
criminals for the purpose of drowning them. 
It is yet spoken of as a means of punishment 
for crime in the East. Sometimes Christians 
were put to death in this way during the per- 
secutions by the Roman emperors. Our Lord 
refers to this practice in warning against the 
danger of placing a stumbling-block in the 
way of others, especially against misleading 
the young : '^ It were better for him that a 
millstone were hanged about his neck, and 
that he were drowned in the depths of the 
sea.'' Matt, xviii, 6. 

Being an article of every-day use, and so es- 
sential in preparing food, Moses enacted, as 
a humane law, that ^* no man shall take the 
nether or the upper millstone to pledge : for he 
taketh a man's life to pledge." Deut. xxiv. 6. 
That is, his life, and that of his family, de- 
pended on his having the mill with which to 
prepare their bread. The same humane pro- 
vision substantially prevails with us. Certain 
articles of household furniture, essential for 
the comforts of a home, and certain tools of 



Grinding. i8l 

the mechanic, by which he may earn his bread 
for himself and family, or their equivalent in 
money, are always exempt from a seizure for 
debt. 

Grinding, being the work of women, was re- 
garded as an effeminate or menial occupation. 
Thus God speaks of the two extremes of so- 
ciety, in describing the thoroughness of the 
work of the destroying angel in Egypt. (Exod. 
xi, 5.) Sometimes male prisoners were re- 
quired to do this work. Such a degradation 
is mentioned as among some of the most cruel 
indignities to which the Israelites were sub- 
jected in Babylon. '' Princes are hanged up 
by their hand ; . . . they took the young men 
to grind." Lam. v, 12, 13. And just as the 
haughty Chaldeans treated their Jewish cap- 
tives, so were they themselves, in due time, 
dealt with. " Come down, and sit in dust, O 
virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground : 
. . • take the millstones^ and grind meal^ Isa. 
xlvii, I, 2. The once proud people were 
themselves carried into captivity, and their 
princes, stripped of their royal apparel, were 
set to grinding at the mill for their captors. 
It must have been a terrible humiliation ; t)ut 
He who sifteth out the nations dealt with 
them as they once dealt with his people. 



1 82 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

So Samson was degraded ; the Philistines 
not only imprisoned him, but, studious of 
cruelty and insult, put out his eyes, and made 
him grind at the mill. It is said that this is 
the first record in history of imprisonment at 
hard labor. Though thus ancient, it was a 
most aggravated punishment. Sometimes in 
our land an outlaw used to be condemned to 
work on public roads, with a chain and ball 
attached to his ankle ; and some of us can re- 
member the extreme degradation to which we 
thought such persons were subjected. An en- 
lightened public opinion has discarded this 
punishment as too degrading for a human be- 
ing ; but the treatment of Samson in the eyes 
of his captors was even worse than this. Him 
who was once the champion of Israel, so 
strong that he could slaj his thousands, they 
would compel to sit on the ground and do the 
work of a woman, by turning the hand-mill. 
Nor did he grind for himself, or even for a 
private family, but for the public. 

** Eyeless in Gaza, at the mill with slaves, 
To grind in brazen fetters under task." 

While it was a refinement of sport to his en- 
emies, it was a terrible degradation to their 
captive. But Samson did not grind meal for 



Grinding. 



183 



the Philistines alone ; a handful falls out for 
us also. For his eventful history and his sad 
downfall help us to understand more fully the 
terrible verities of God, as revealed in the sub- 
lime lessons of his word. 




1 84 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MEAL, LEAVEN, AND LOAVES. 

LET not the reader imagine that the bread 
placed every morning on the table of 
Boaz was made of fine white flour, such as 
comes from our mills. Though his fields pro- 
duced the best of wheat, and his servants may 
have been the best of bakers, yet his bread was 
coarse and dark, resembling baked ashes rather 
than bread. The skill of the miller has very 
much to do in the production of the puffy white 
bread that is so essential a part of our food. 

Nor did Boaz complain of its coarseness, or 
his health suffer by its use. Though he slept 
at night, sometimes in the open air, with no 
protection from its chills and damps but his 
mantle, yet it is not recorded that he was 
troubled with dyspepsia, rheumatism, or colds. 
There is reason to believe that he and the other 
ancients had very much the advantage over us 
moderns in this respect. In our excessive re- 
finement we require that the most nutritious 
and healthful portions of the grain be extracted, 



Meal^ Leaven^ and Loaves. 185 

and fed to cattle. It is a hopeful sign that, 
for a rarity, fashion or health, our mills find a 
demand for small quantities of unbolted, or 
coarsely bolted, flour. If this demand should 
become more general, there is reason to believe 
that doctors' bills and death rates would be 
much diminished. 

Recall our description of the mill and the 
rude process of grinding in the time of Boaz, 
and you will form some idea of the kind of meal 
his mill produced. It was baked just as it 
rolled out from the millstone, unsifted, and 
this was the staple article for bread in all Bi- 
ble times. Such was the meal whose supply 
became inexhaustible for the sustenance of 
the widow of Zarephath. (i Kings xvii, 12.) 
Among the articles of food enumerated as daily 
required for Solomon's regal household were 
threescore measures of meal, (i Kings iv, 22,) 
which, according to the estimate of the term 
translated measure, would be about six hun- 
dred bushels. What a ringing of millstones 
there must have been every morning about 
his palace kitchen ! 

Sometimes wheat was ground with barley, 

rye, beans, and millet. (Ezek. iv, 9.) The bread 

from this mixture was called '' barley cakes," 

(Ezek. iv, 12,) inasmuch as barley was the chief 
24 



1 86 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

ingredient. Frequently wheat and barley were 
mixed in equal quantities, as was probably the 
case with the bread used by the wood-cutters 
of Lebanon. (2 Chron. ii, 10.) 

To be compelled to subsist entirely on bar- 
ley bespoke a low state of poverty, and it was 
the last resort of a people in time of famine. 
(2 Kings iv, 42.) Its relative value is thus ex- 
pressed : ^^ A measure of fine flour was sold for 
a shekel, and two measures of barley for a 
shekel.'* 2 Kings vii, 16. This was, doubtless, 
the main subsistence of Ruth and her mother- 
in-law, at least in the early part of the harvest 
season ; but they were to see better days ere 
the full harvest was ended. Even at the pres- 
ent day one of the common complaints of the 
people in Palestine is that their oppressors have 
left them nothing but barley bread to eat. 

Thus the use of barley for bread came to be 
expressive of what was low or despicable. 
The jealous offering (Num. v, 15) must be of 
barley meal instead of the fine wheat flour, be- 
cause it denoted the low reputation in which 
the parties were held. This adds force to the 
expression in Ezek. xiii, 19 : " Will ye pollute 
me among my people for handfuls of barley?'* 

And here is the force of the dream of the 
Midianite soldier, and its interpretation in the 



Meal, Leaven, and Loaves, 187 

allusion to Gideon and the barley cake. Gid- 
eon did not only belong to Israel, the despi- 
cable enemy of the Midianites, but he was of 
the tribe of Manasseh, the smallest in Israel ; 
and the son of Joash, of an undistinguished 
family in that tribe ; and, also, the youngest son 
— the least in his father^s house. He was, hu- 
manly speaking, truly a " barley cake." His 
humble origin, as well as his renowned career, 
was, doubtless, familiar to the Midianites. 
Hence, when the soldier told the dream of the 
barley cake's tumbling into their camp, his 
comrade had a ready interpretation for it. 
" Your barley cake means Gideon — God will 
use this despicable fellow to destroy our mighty 
host.'* This he said half tauntingly and half 
in earnest ; and lo, as he spoke it, Gideon 
heard ! and forthwith, at the head of his three 
hundred valiant men, with their lamps and 
pitchers, he dashed upon them, and the dream 
became a reality. (Judges vii, 13.) 

Meal was sometimes sifted, and was then 
called "fine flour,*' or simply ''flour;" but 
this, at best, must have been coarse, so poor 
were their facilities for grinding and sifting. 
Fine flour was always used in the religious 
services. Cakes of fine flour mixed with oil 
constituted a prominent part of the peace-of- 



1 88 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

fering, the meat-offering, and the offering of 
unleavened bread. Even the poorest of the 
Hebrews must bring his offering of fine flour. 
(Lev. xiv, 21.) At the dedication of the taber- 
nacle it is especially mentioned that the princes 
brought the required measures of fine flour 
mingled with oil. (Num. vii.) Thus God would 
teach that the best and the purest of what we 
have and are can only be acceptable to him. 

Fine flour was used as a delicacy by the 
wealthy, and for the table of kings. Solomon's 
household consumed daily thirty measures of 
fine flour, which was about three hundred bush- 
els, (i Kings iv, 22.) It was also used on oc- 
casions of distinguished hospitality. Abraham 
and Gideon baked it for the table when they 
entertained angels unawares. (Gen. xviii, 6 ; 
Judges vi, 19.) It was part of the royal repast 
provided for King David by some hospitable 
citizens of Mahanaim. (2 Sam. xvii, 28.) 

As coarse barley meal was the last resort of a 
people in deep poverty and in time of famine, 
so to subsist on fine flour was significant of 
affluence and prosperous times. (2 Kings vii, I ; 
Ezek. xvi, 13 ; Rev. xviii, 13.) 

The amount of meal usually required for a 
single baking was an ephah or three measures, 
about equal to three pecks, (Gen. xviii, 6; 



Meal, Leaven, and Loaves. 189 

Matt, xiii, 33,) which seems to have been 
suited to the size of an ordinary oven ; though, 
of course, this quantity would vary with the 
wants of the family. 

If we should inquire of the servants of Boaz 
for a receipt for making the bread of their 
day, we should find that we have not improved 
much in this domestic art. The meal was 
mixed with water or milk, and then kneaded 
with the hands in a small wooden bowl, called a 
kneading trough. (Exod. viii, 3 ; xii, 34.) It 
would seem as if the Hebrews were thus 
engaged when the command was given for 
their departure from Egypt. Each housewife 
took the kneading-trough, with the dough in 
it. Such small wooden bowls could easily be 
wrapped up in a small mantle or some outer 
garment, and carried on the shoulders during 
a journey. 

The Bedouins carry their dough in a leath- 
ern napkin or wallet, which is still more con- 
venient, as it may be compressed in a small 
space. From a painting in the tomb of 
Rameses III., at Thebes, we can see the con- 
struction of the Hebrew kneading-troughs, with 
the bakers at their work. Some of the same 
paintings represent that the kneading was 
done by the feet, as well as the hands, a proc- 



190 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

ess not unlike that of treading the wine-press. 
(Isa. Ixiii, 3.) 

The plague of the frogs must have been a 
terrible annoyance to the Egyptians. We are 
told that these slimy vermin came up at the 
command of Aaron, and were every-where— 
in the king's palace, in his bed-chamber, in 
his ovens and kneading-troughs, so that even 
his food was polluted with their carcasses. 

After the kneading, leaven was added. This 
is an essential ingredient in all wholesome 
bread. It was produced by the mixture of a 
lump of dough with any substance that would 
ferment. Honey seems to have been especially 
so employed, because it soon turned sour in 
that warm climate. Hence its use, in common 
with that of unleavened bread, was prohibited 
in the meat-offerings. (Lev. ii, 11.) The lump 
of dough, in a high state of fermentation, was 
placed in the kneaded mass, and after a time 
the whole became leavened. 

Its beneficial effects are twofold. A chem- 
ical change is caused in the substance of the 
dough, which imparts a slightly acid taste to 
the bread, thus rendering it more palatable ; 
but, along with this, a mechanical change is 
also effected. The moist but dense lump, pene- 
trated through every part by the gaseous prod- 



Meal^ Leaven^ and Loaves. 191 

uct of fermentation, is transformed into a 
spongy mass. Thus, though the loaf may be 
of considerable thickness, the heat of the oven 
has access to every portion, so that every part 
is equally baked. 

. The use of the leaven was, doubtless, as an- 
cient as that of the mortar, or the millstones, 
though the earliest reference to it is in the ac- 
count of that memorable night that gave birth 
to the Hebrew nation. (Exod. xii, 34-49.) In 
the haste of the Hebrews to escape they had 
not time to leaven their dough, but each house- 
wife, taking an unleavened lump, hasted away 
with the fleeing host, to bake it when they had 
found a place of safety. 

In order to make the fermentation thorough, 
the dough was' allowed to stand for some time 
(Matt, xiii, 33) exposed to a moderate heat. 
Sometimes the leaven was quietly left to do its 
work for an entire night. Thus Hosea, in 
speaking of the wickedness of Ephraim and 
Samaria, says "' They are all adulterers, as an 
oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from 
raising [to stir the fire] after he hath kneaded 
the dough, until it be leavened. . . . They have 
made ready their heart like an oven, while 
they lie in wait : their baker sleepeth all the 
night." Hosea vii, 4-6. 



192 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

As time was required to produce the leaven, 
or to leaven the bread when this substance 
was at hand, unleavened cakes were made on 
all occasions of sudden need. Thus the He- 
brews baked unleavened cakes at Succoth. 
(Exod. xii, 39.) Such bread was provided es- 
pecially when it was necessary to prepare a 
meal for an unexpected guest, not simply be- 
cause the stranger suddenly came, but also be- 
cause it was a mark of hospitality not to keep 
him waiting long for his needed refreshment. 
Thus, while Abraham hastened to dress the 
calf, Sarah quickly mixed some flour and milk 
into dough, and baked it for the distinguished 
guests. (Gen. xviii, 6.) So to-day when a guest 
makes his appearance in a camp of Arabs, they 
at once set about preparing for him these flat 
unleavened cakes. Dr. Robinson thus describes 
the process as it came under his observation : 
^* The Arabs brought some flour, or, rather, meal 
of wheat and barley filled with chaff, of which 
they kneaded a round flat cake of some thick- 
ness. This they threw into the ashes and 
coals of fire they had kindled, and after due 
time brought out a loaf of bread, as black on 
the outside as the coals themselves, and not 
much whiter within.'' 

The use of leaven was strictly prohibited in 



Meal, Leaven^ and Loaves. 193 

all offerings made to God except the peace 
offering (Lev. vii, 13) and the Pentecostal 
loaves. (Lev. xxiii, 17.) The Israelites were 
especially forbidden to use it at the feast 
of the Passover, under the penalty of death, or 
even to have it in their houses (Exod. xii, 15) 
or in their land (Deut. xvi, 4) during the seven 
days of the feast. 

Several lessons Vv^ere designed to be imparted 
by this prohibition. In the feast of the pass- 
over it kept vividly before the mind the haste 
with which their ancestors fled from their op- 
pressors, and the afflictions they endured when 
under their power. It would seem that the 
insipid taste of the unleavened bread was de- 
signed to recall this, from the language of 
Moses, who terms it ''bread of afflictions.*' 
Deut. xvi, 3. 

But more especially was there set forth that 
necessity of moral purity that is taught in so 
many ways in the Jewish worship. Leaven in 
itself is a corruption, and it communicates its 
nature to every particle of the bread with 
which it is brought in contact, in the leavening 
process The Saviour alluded to what it thus 
symbolizes when he says : '' Beware of the leav- 
en of the Pharisees." The apostle's commen 

tary on this is clear, and unmistakable, when in 
35 



194 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

speaking of the sin of the carnal heart which the 
people of God are to shun, he says, ^^ Purge out 
therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new 
lump, as ye are unleavened." i Cor. v, 7. 

Leaven is also used in the Scripture in some 
cases to symbolize progress, either in a good or 
bad cause. The proverb quoted by Paul, 
(i Cor. V, 6,) *'A little leaven leaveneth the 
whole lump," seems to have been current both 
among the Romans and Jews, and was, doubt- 
less, so applied by them. The Saviour in one 
of his parables (Matt, xiii, 33) points to its 
secretly penetrating and diffusive power, to il- 
lustrate the growth of the kingdom of God in 
the world and in the individual heart. He 
would seem to say, that if evil spreads like 
leaven, much more penetrating and diffusive is 
the grace of God when hidden in the world 
and in believing hearts. 

The show bread consisted of twelve thin, un- 
leavened cakes, placed in two piles on the 
table. A thin sheet of gold separated each 
from the other, to prevent mold, and the whole 
was sprinkled with incense. The bread was 
replaced by fresh loaves every Sabbath morn- 
ing, and that which was thus replaced was 
eaten in the sanctuary by the priests. Lev. 
xxiv, 5-9. No one else could lawfully use it. 



Meal^ Leaven^ and Loaves. I95 

as is shown in the case of David and his men. 
(i Sam. xxi, 4-6.) Our Lord, in commenting 
on this breach of the law by David, teaches 
that the letter of the law may bend to the ne- 
cessities of man, while in spirit it must be 
strictly observed. (Matt, xii, 4.) 

The unleavened bread of the paschal feast 
was made into such cakes. Dr. Robinson de- 
scribes some that he saw used by the modern 
Jews as ^^ of very thin sheets, almost like paper, 
very white, and also very delicate and pal- 
atable.'* The bread of all the offerings was 
made into thin, round cakes, mixed with olive 
oil, and sometimes it was rolled out into wa- 
fers and coated with oil. (Lev. ii, 4.) 

Unleavened cakes were prepared in a variety 
of ways for ordinary household use. By the 
ancient Egyptians, as their mural paintings 
show, stimulating seeds were sometimes min- 
gled with the other materials of such cakes, and 
for a rarity, and for sick persons, the same 
thing was possibly done among the Jews. 
Tamar prepared cakes of this kind for her 
brother Amnon when he feigned sickness. 
(2 Sam. xiii, 6, 8, 10.) Olive oil was often mixed 
with the punctured dough or bread on the 
outside of the cakes, (i Kings xvii, 12.) This 
gave them the rich flavor of butter. 



196 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

Bread leavened a7id baked in loaves was, how- 
ever, ordinarily used. As it was eaten the 
same day it was made, the loaves need not be 
so thick to retain moisture as with us. They 
were usually round, about six or eight inches 
in diameter, and two inches thick, resembling 
round flat stones. Such a resemblance sug- 
gested the question of our Lord : '^ What man 
is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will 
he give him a stone?" Matt, vii, 9. It was 
also, possibly, the ground of Satan's suggestion 
to Christ : ^^ If thou be the Son of God, com- 
mand that these stones be made bread.'' Matt. 

iv, 3. 

Palmer thus playfully speaks of the loaves 
of bread given to the Arabs by the monks of 
the convent on Mount Sinai : ** One of these 
loaves I brought back with me. An eminent 
geologist to whom I submitted it pronounced 
it a piece of metamorphic rock, containing 
fragments of flint embedded in an amorphous 
paste. No decently brought-up ostrich could 
swallow one loaf without endangering his di- 
gestion for the term of his natural life." 

The Orientals are great eaters of bread- 
perhaps three fifths of the inhabitants live en- 
tirely upon it, or on w^heat or barley in some 
of its forms. We learn from the parable of 



Meal, Leaven, and Loaves. 197 

the '' friend at midnight " (Luke xi, 5) that 
three such loaves were required for one person 
at an ordinary meal. Two hundred such loaves 
were deemed a royal supply for King David 
and his attendants, (i Sam. xxv, t8.) One loaf 
for a day's subsistence was thought to be 
barely sufficient to sustain life, (i Sam. ii, 36,) 
and being reduced to a single loaf became a 
symbol of great destitution. (Proverbs vi, 26.) 
Such was the meager daily supply of Jeremiah 
when imprisoned at the command of Zedekiah, 
(Jer. xxxvii, 21,) and one loaf was all that Elijah 
asked in consideration of the poverty of the 
widow of Zarephath. (i Kings xvii, ii.) Five 
loaves of barley bread, with two small fishes, 
were the basis of the Saviour's miraculous sup- 
ply for the five thousand. 



198 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER XVL 

BAKING, OVENS, AND BREAD. 

AS bread was the chief article for subsist- 
ence, its preparation claimed a large share 
of attention in every household. This was or- 
dinarily the work of women, (Gen. xviii, 6 ; 
Matt, xiii, 33,) and usually of the mistress of 
the house. An Israelitish maiden never could 
have graduated from a seminary, nor could she 
have been placed at the head of domestic af- 
fairs, without being able to bake good bread. 
Even the fair daughters of kings were as ac- 
complished in this art as were the mothers in 
Israel. (2 Sam. xiii, 8.) 

Boaz had as yet no wife to take charge of 
this important duty, but his heart was fixed 
on one, dwelling in the humble abode of Na- 
omi, to whom he was willing to intrust this 
service, and the shoe was already made that 
was to be significant in an important ceremony 
(Ruth iv, 7) that would place her at the head 
of his household affairs. 

.Baking is the only domestic requirement that 



Baking, Ovens, and Bread. 199 

is spoken of in the Bible as a distinct trade, 
and as such it was carried on by men. (Hosea 
vii, 4, 6.) At first, perhaps, there were bakers 
only for kings* households. Pharaoh had his 
chief baker, who probably attended to the bak- 
ing of pastry and meat as well as bread. (Gen. 
xl, 16, 17.) In later times bakers prepared 
bread for families, travelers, and prisoners. 
(Jer. xxxvii, 21.) 

The bakers' street referred to in Jeremiah 
doubtless means the bakers' place, or market ; 
just as at present bakers, as well as those of 
other trades, have a particular bazaar or mar- 
ket-place for their business, instead of being 
dispersed in different parts of the city or town 
in which they reside. 

Doubtless the earliest and simplest mode ot 
baking was on a hearth, or on flat stones. 
(Gen. xviii, 6.) The Bedouins furnish us some 
illustrations of this mode. A fire is kindled 
on a clear spot of sandy ground ; when the 
ground is sufficiently heated the embers and 
ashes are swept aside. The dough is then 
quickly placed on the heated spot, and covered 
with the glowing embers. The crust of such 
bread will taste somewhat of the smoke a^d 
ashes, but this need not be eaten. Such was 
the cake that Elijah found on the coals, after 



200 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

his sleep under the juniper-tree, (i Kings xix, 6.) 
Sometimes a cavity is formed in the earth, 
over which is placed a flat stone on which, 
when sufficiently heated, the cake is baked. 

Mr. Palmer has recently found in the vicinity 
of Mount Sinai small flat stones, which show 
signs of the action of fire. On digging beneath 
the surface of the soil he discovered pieces of 
charcoal in great abundance. Assuming that 
these were the remains of ovens, and finding 
in the same locality other relics of an ancient 
encampment, he reasons with much plausi- 
bility that this was the site of the Israelitish 
camp at Kibroth-Hattaavah. 

A pan of earthenware or iron is sometimes 
alluded to as taking the place of a flat stone 
for baking purposes. (Lev. ii, 5-7 ; i Chron. 
xxiii, 29.) Tamar used something of this kind 
when she baked the dainty cakes for her 
brother. (2 Sam. xiii, 9.) Cakes baked thus 
would need to be turned in order to have both 
sides cooked. This furnishes an explanation 
of the allusion to the Israelitish nation as a 
cake not turned, (Hos. vii, 8,) that is, hav 
ing black, charred crust on one side, and soui 
dough on the other; the mixture and the 
kneading may have been all right, but the 
bread was spoiled in the baking. There was 



Bakings Ovens, and Bread. 201 

no symmetry of character in the Israelites ; their 
evil neutralized their good. This want of 
proper baking, in human character, is the 
cause of the failure of thousands. Their 
talents and opportunities for great good are 
counteracted by opposing elements of evil. 

Regular ovens were of various forms ; the 
most common were of brick, shaped very much 
like those in use with us. Such ovens have 
recently been found among the ruins of Pom- 
peii, with loaves of bread in them, baked two 
thousand years ago. Sometimes a hole was 
dug in the center of the principal room of the 
house, four or five feet deep and three feet in 
diameter ; the sides were coated with clay or 
mortar, and the bottom paved with stones. 
When it was sufficiently heated their flaps of 
dough were plastered on the sides, or placed 
on the hot stones at the bottom. Such ovens 
are still in use in Persia. 

Portable ovens, like a great jar or pitcher, 

were common, composed of stone or metal, in 

the bottom of which were placed some pieces 

of flint to retain the heat. The fire was 

kindled inside, and when it had burned down 

and the ashes were removed the dough was 

applied on the inside, or on the flinty floor. 

Sometimes it was rolled out thin, and stuck on 
26 




202 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

the outside, when it soon fell off perfectly 
baked. It is supposed by some that the wafer- 
like cakes alluded 
to in Lev. ii, 4 
were baked on 
such a pitcher 
oven, while the 
other cakes were 
baked inside of it. 
Such ovens were 
certainly used by 
OVEN, WITH THREE LOAVES. thc Egyptians long 
before the time of the Exodus. 

The Arabs employ a similar portable 
pitcher oven made of clay. In the lower 
aperture is a place for the fire ; over this is a 
floor of clay on which the dough is baked, 
while the top affords a convenient place for 
the bread gradually to cool. For ten women 
to bake the bread of a nation in one oven 
(Lev. xxvi, 26) was a figurative expression, 
implying great destitution in times of famine. 

Although the general rule among families in 
Palestine is to bake their bread at home, yet 
more or less public ovens are in use in every 
considerable town or city. These supply bread 
for travelers, and others living without a fixed 
abode ; also small families, owing to the ex- 



Bakings Ovens ^ and Bread. 203 

pense of fuel, send their dough to them to be 
baked. The baker receives for his pay a small 
portion of the bread, which he adds to his 
general stock for sale. Such was, doubtless, 
the use for public ovens spoken of in Hosea 
vii, 4; Jer. xxxvii, 21, and it is generally be- 
lieved that the ^^ tower of the furnaces '' alluded 
to in Neh. iii, ii ; xii, 38, was a collection of 
ovens for public use. 

Fuel for heating ovens was an important 
item. Wood has always been scarce, especially 
in Southern Palestine, and was out of the 
question for this purpose. The ^' fire-brand 
plucked out of the burning" (Amos iv, 11) re- 
ferred, doubtless, to twigs of vines and other 
brushwood. Almost the only trees that grew 
were those cultivated for fruit or shade. If 
these failed to meet the expectation of the 
husbandman, they were consumed, root and 
branch, for fuel. The allusion of John the 
Baptist (Matt, iii, 10) is illustrated to this day 
in that country. Men dig away the soil, and 
lay the ax unto the very roots of the tree to 
hew it down for fuel. 

Charcoal was employed by smiths for heating 
metal, (Isa. liv, 16,) also in cool weather for 
warming the body, (John xviii, 18,) and was 
doubtless sometimes used for fuel for ovens. 



2o4 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

The scrubby growth of the pine and oak, with 
their roots, from the hills about Hebron, is 
burned into charcoal and transported to Jeru- 
salem for this purpose. The ordure of camels 
and cattle is carefully collected from the paths 
by the Arabs, and dried for fuel, and has been 
always used for heating ovens. (Ezek. iv, 15.) 

The great variety of thorns and brambles 
that have always abounded in Judea were 
thus used. These are capable of producing a 
quick and intense heat, and are easily kindled. 
The hills and mountains for ten or fifteen 
miles around Jerusalem are carefully cleared 
of their scraggy growth for fuel. Great heaps 
of such brushwood are belted to the backs of 
donkeys, carried to the city, and sold by the 
pound. It is a strange and an amusing sight 
to see these, in the streets and market places. 
The little patient beasts of burden are almost 
buried beneath their loads. Sometimes you 
wonder why such a great brush heap should be 
lying in the busy street, but presently you see 
it, or a whole train of such heaps, getting up 
and walking off. The conductor goes before, 
shouting to the people, ^' Dahrac, Wushac ! 
Dahrac, Wushac ! '' ''Your back, your face! 
your back, your face ! '' to warn all in the 
narrow streets to look and step out of the way, 



Bakings Ovens ^ and Bread, 



205 



'est their limbs or clothing may be torn with 
thorns. Weeds, dried grass and stubble, and 




THORXS FOR THE OVEN. 



even withered wild flowers, of which the fields 
supply so rich a profusion, are also gathered 
into great bundles and in sacks, and sold thus 
to bakers for fuel. 



^o6 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Such care in collecting fuel for the oven was 
necessary in the days of our Saviour, and from 
this source he derived the beautiful illustration 
of the divine watch-care : '* If God so clothe 
the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to- 
morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not 
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?'* 
Matt, vi, 30. 

The heat of the oven suggested to the 
Psalmist the idea of the swift destruction of 
the sinner, under the all-consuming wrath of 
God. (Psa. xxi, 9.) Its blackness from the soot 
suggested to Jeremiah the appearance of the 
wan and blackened countenances of the people 
in time of famine. (Lam. v, 10.) As its heat 
speedily licked up the grass and stubble that 
was cast into it, it reminded Malachi of that 
great day of the Lord when ^' all the proud, 
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble.'' 
Mai. iv, I. God compares the all-devouring 
tendency of sinful passion to a heated oven. 
(Hosea vii, 4-7.) 

In the warm and dry climate of Palestine 
bread would soon become hard and stale ; hence 
the necessity for baking it every day. A little 
experience of tent life in that country soon 
impresses the traveler with the importance of 
this. This must have suggested the clause in 



Bakings Ovens ^ and Bread. 207 

the Lord's Prayer, ^' Give us day by day our 
daily bread." Luke xi, 3. And while the pe- 
tition teaches us our dependence on our heav- 
enly Father for daily bread, it also teaches 
that at least as often as bread was thus pre- 
pared we should pray to him. 

Because no more than a supply for each day 
was thus baked, it is seen why, if an unex- 
pected guest came, bread must be baked for 
him. (Gen. xviii, 6.) Nor could it be a mark 
of poverty or mismanagement in home affairs 
if one on his journey should arrive at the 
house of his friend at midnight and find him 
unprovided with this staff of life. If, in addi- 
tion to the trouble of kneading the dough, 
kindling the fire, and baking the bread, the 
housewife would have to grind the meal, as 
was possibly the case, the man should not be 
blamed for going to his neighbor to borrow. 
And if, as some one aptly suggests, the neigh- 
bor had children, what more likely than that 
their tender mother should have baked later 
in the day than the usual time, to supply their 
more frequent claims of hunger? It was, evi- 
dently, not unusual, as is the case to-day in ^11 
Oriental countries, to borrow in such an emer- 
gency, with the expectation of repayment at 
the next baking. 



2o8 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

As bread was so essential in sustaining life, 
it became the basis of many forcible meta- 
phors. Thus '^ bread of tears " (Psa. Ixxx, 5) 
and '' bread of sorrow '* (Psa. cxxvii, 2) meant 
a deep and continued sorrow, on which the 
soul fed as the body on bread. To eat the 
bread of wickedness (Prov. iv, 17) and the 
bread of deceit (Prov. xx, 17) was to enjoy 
wickedness — to '' roll it as a sweet morsel '' — 
to feed upon it as bread. So, to give bread 
to one's enemy was to subdue his hatred by 
feeding him with kindness. (Prov. xxv, 21.) 
Christ calls himself the bread of life, because 
in him the soul finds sustenance. (John vi, 35.) 

As so much social feeling was concentrated 
around a loaf of bread, especially when those 
who ate broke it from the same loaf, to 
break bread or to eat bread with one was 
expressive of great intimacy with him or of 
great kindness to him. Thus David showed 
kindness to Mephibosheth for his father's sake, 
in taking him to eat bread at his own table. 
(2 Sam. ix, 7.) Hence the Jews did not eat 
with the Samaritans, because they were at bit- 
ter variance with them ; and more than once 
they professed that they were greatly shocked 
at Christ's eating with publicans and sinners. 
There is, am.ong other truths, the idea of inti- 



Bakings Ovens ^ and Bread, 209 

mate friendly relations suggested in the ordi- 
nance of the Lord's Supper: the twelve ate 
bread broken from the same loaf. 

Eating bread with one was also a pledge of 
friendly compact. Thus Ishmael and the ten 
princes professed friendship for Gedaliah at 
Mizpah, but soon proved false by taking his 
life. (Jer. xli, I.) It was deemed very repre- 
hensible to break bonds thus cemented. Hence, 
David in his adversity complains : "" Mine own 
familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did 
eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against 
me.'' Psa. xli, 9. The Saviour applies this 
language to Judas, (John xiii, 18,) whose treach- 
ery was the more perfidious because it was 
shown so soon after he had eaten with his 
Lord. 
27 




2 JO Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE PREPARATION FOR THE BRIDAL SUPPER. 

OUR " Bible History of a Loaf of Bread " 
would be very incomplete if we failed to 
describe the supper of Bible times. It need 
not be as grand as a royal banquet, nor as 
meager as a " dinner of herbs/' Let it be the 
bridal feast of our model fanner. 

Ever since Boaz had met the fair gleaner in 
his wheat-fields one thought had been grow- 
ing in his mind, until it became the all-absorb- 
ing one. Naomi, too, was not an uninterested 
observer of the course of events, and, with her 
motherly skill, had planned for a happy settle- 
ment of the question involved. But there was 
a nearer kinsman, and, according to a law 
older than the code of Moses, this one's pref- 
erences must be consulted. In the mind of 
Boaz it was a question of too much magni- 
tude to allow a tardy settlement. The con- 
ference was held with the prior claimant in 
the gate-way of the city, in the presence of the 
elders ; and his claims were relinquished, in 



Preparation for the Bridal Supper. 211 

token of which he plucked a shoe from his 
foot and gave it to Boaz, who, in this bargain 
at least, was glad to stand in the shoes of an- 
other. (Ruth iv, 7.) 

The day had arrived on the evening of 
which was to be observed the bridal festivi- 
ties. Bethlehem was all astir with interest, 
and the homestead, so renowned in after times, 
never presented so busy a scene. The house, 
inside and out, was decked in its gayest attire. 
On the outer walls, and over the entrance, 
were suspended lanterns of oiled paper of vari- 
ous brilliant colors. About the inner court, 
and especially around the walls and ceiling of 
the guest-chamber, garlands and flowers were 
festooned in rich profusion, with an ample sup- 
ply of lanterns and lamps. 

As the evening approached the man-serv- 
ants were sent to the field to kill the best of 
the flock and the fatted calf. (Matthew xxii, 4 ; 
Luke XV, 23.) As it was difficult to preserve 
flesh for any length of time in that warm cli- 
mate, it was common to kill, dress, roast, and 
eat the animal in almost the same hour. (Gen. 
xviii, 7.) During the day the maid-servants 
were busy in grinding the meal and preparing 
the bread and pastries, which in due time were 
drawn from the glowing ovens. 



2 1 2 Wheat from the Pie Ids of Boa^, 

And, now that all things were ready, messen- 
gers were sent to announce the fact to those 
who had received the more formal invitation 
some days previously. (Matt, xxii, 3.) Unless 
those invited gave some reason to the con- 
trary on the first invitation, it was taken for 
granted that they accepted it, or at least were 
under obligation to use every possible means 
to be present ; and the second invitation was 
only made to such persons. To allow some 
trivial excuse to keep one away after all the 
formalities of preparation and announcement 
was deemed the essence of insult to him who 
prepared the feast. This is one of the points 
our Lord makes in the parable of the great 
supper, to show the guilt of rejecting the offers 
of mercy made in the Gospel. (Matt, xxii, 4.) 

The sun has gone down over the hills of 
Benjamin, and the shadows of evening are 
deepening as the guests arrive. Boaz is ar- 
rayed in his flowing festive robes, with his nup- 
tial crown or turban, (Song of Sol. iii, 11,) and 
garlanded with flowers. Joined by his guests, 
they proceed to the house of Ruth, to bring 
her home as his bride. They are a joyous 
company : some carry torches, some lamps, 
others lanterns, and still others play upon in- 
struments of music. 



Preparation for the Bridal Supper, 2 1 3 

Meanwhile the daughters of Bethlehem have 
assembled at the house of Naomi, and have 
been busy in adorning Ruth for the important 
occasion. Some, who have made it a life- 
study, have exercised their skill and employed 
every device of apparel and ornament to give 
her the most graceful appearance. Her dress 
was white, (Rev, xix, 8,) embroidered with gold. 
(Psa. xlv, 13, 14.) In jewels she was especial- 
ly profuse. These were the inviolable keep- 
sakes of the family ; even the poorest would 
not part with them, nor could they be touched 
for a debt. Her raven tresses were braided 
with pearls and gold, and all the precious 
gifts of Boaz at her betrothment (Genesis 
xxiv, 53) were brought forth to adorn her 
person. 

Poor as we must suppose Ruth was, let us 
not blame her for extravagance on this occa- 
sion. It was one of the great events of a life- 
time, and Jewish maidens had about as much 
interest in wedding attire as have their sisters 
of a later age. To be well adorned at such a 
time was a harmless ambition, that seems to 
have been recognized by our Lord. *^ Can a 
bride forget her attire ?*' he asks of thought- 
less Israel. (Jer. ii, 32.) John, the beloved, 
thought of this when he caught a glimpse of 



214 Wheat from the Fields of Boas. 

the glories of the New Jerusalem, and he said 
it was " prepared as a bride adorned for her 
husband/' Rev. xxi, 2. 

And yet the highest adornment of woman's 
device, or the beauty of Ruth's person, was as 
nothing in comparison with the inner beauty 
of her spirit. What can all external appear- 
ances be in the eyes of that Being who looks 
at the heart ? Has it not been said that the 
*^ ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is in the 
sight of God of great price ? " i Pet. iii, 4. 

A distinctive feature of Ruth's dress was the 
bridal vail, a light, ample robe, that not only 
covered her face, but fell gracefully from her 
shoulders over her entire person. (Gen. xxiv, 
65 ; xxxviii, 14.) This she put on as a symbol 
of submission to her husband, (i Cor. xi, 5-10.) 

And now the two companies have united, 
and are marching to the home of Boaz. If 
ever matches were made in heaven this one 
was. In taking the hand of the fair daughter 
of Moab, Boaz is receiving a priceless treasure. 
Why should not his friends rejoice with him, 
for her worth was spoken of in all the city ? 
(Ruth iii, II.) The procession was attended by 
a gay and joyous throng, piping, singing, and 
dancing as they went. The bride walked be- 
neath a moving canopy of flowers and ever- 



Preparation for the Bridal Supper. 215 

greens, while the very air was fragrant with 
myrrh and balsam. 

The streets were illuminated with bonfires 
of resinous wood, which, with the torches of 




WEDDING FESTIVITIES. 
" Behold ! the bridegroom cometh." 

the bridal party, seemed to outshine the light 
of the stars. Listen to the notes of joy, as the 
singers and musicians throng the thoroughfares. 
(Jer. vii, 34 ; xxxiii, 1 1.) Hear the expressions 
of good will from the Bethlehemites as they 
bend over the battlements, or press through the 
doorways and out into the streets (Song of Sol. 
iii, 11) to sprinkle the pathway with costly per- 



2 1 6 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

fumes and flowers. Only on that night when 
the shepherds heard the songs of the angeHc 
hosts did the hills around Bethlehem resound 
with such glad music. 

A ceremony of such interest must be wit- 
nessed by all the city and its surroundings ; 
hence all the streets must be passed over in 
reaching the home of Boaz, and the marching 
is prolonged till a late hour. Along the road 
were parties waiting to join the joyous throng; 
would it be strange if with these there should 
occur, perhaps once and again, the scene com- 
mon in the days of our Saviour, and ,on which 
he founds one of his parables? 

Some of those waiting grow drowsy and fall 
asleep. Presently the gleam of torches and 
the sounds of music announce the approach of 
the bridal party. The sleepers are startled 
with the cry of their more watchful compan- 
ions, *' He comes, the bridegroom comes.'* 
But lo ! as they wake they find that they are 
not ready to join the procession, for their 
lamps have gone out, and they have no oil at 
hand with which to replenish them. They 
must go, amid the bustle and hurry of the 
approaching company, to some neighboring 
oil store and buy. But while they are gone 
the procession comes up ; the watchful and 



Preparation for the Bridal Supper, 2 1 7 

wise, with their lamps trimmed and burning, 
join it, and soon, reaching the home of the 
bridegroom, they that are ready enter in, and 




" The foolish virgins took no oil in their lamps." 

in the streets the glare of torches gives place 
to outer darkness. 

All the guests having entered, '' the master 
of the house " arises and closes the door. The 
foolish ones, who had lost in time and distance 
while purchasing oil, with many others, may 

have arrived just a little late, but the ceremo- 

28 



2 1 8 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

nies within must not be disturbed by the be- 
lated, no matter how great their importunity 
to be admitted. (Matt, xxv, ii ; Luke xiii, 25.) 
What an impressive lesson is this whole 
scene of the disappointed hopes of the many 
at last! The marriage of the king's Son has 
been prepared ; the invitation has gone forth, 
** Come, for all things are now ready.'' The 
Bridegroom delays his coming for a season, and 
in his delay many are careless of the needful 
preparation. They are not his avowed enemies, 
nor do they seem to be indifferent to his invi- 
tation ; nay, they even promise themselves that 
they will accept. If they felt sure that the 
doors would be closed against them they would 
be most miserable. They even sometimes 
flatter themselves that an outward profession 
is all the preparation they need. But they 
have not put on the wedding robe, nor have 
they provided themselves with oil for their 
lamps. They are asleep in their unreadiness, 
and though with each beating pulse the Bride- 
groom comes nearer, yet they sleep on in their 
imagined security. Soon they will be startled 
by the announcement that he is at hand, and 
at the approach of death and the judgment 
they will bestir themselves to prepare to meet 
him. But it will be then too late, and, the 



Preparation for the Bridal Supper, 219 

door once closed, entreaty will be in vain. 
What can it avail now to knock and send their 




TOO LATE. 
-" The door was shut." 



names to the Bridegroom ? The response from 
within will be, '' I never knew you ; there 
never was one element of my spirit in your 
character." 



220 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

IN THE GUEST-CHAMBER. 

LET us suppose we are among the guests 
invited to this bridal supper, while we 
attempt to describe what comes under our 
notice, within the guest-chamber. Having 
been recognized by the servants, who received 
our tablets of invitation at the outer door, we 
are escorted along a corridor, at the side of 
the inner court, and up a flight of stairs, to 
the guest-chamber, at the door of which we 
pause and leave our shoes. (Luke vii, 38 ; John 
xiii, 5.) A servant removes them from our 
feet, (Mark i, 7,) takes charge of them, and 
will have them in readiness when we leave 
the feast. If we notice the number of pairs 
of shoes at the door wx can form some esti- 
mate of the number of guests who have pre- 
ceded us. Perhaps our reader has sometimes 
been in quest of similar information when 
noticing the number of hats on the rack in 
the hall. 

All having entered, we exchange the formali- 



In the Guest-Chamber. 12\ 

ties of greeting with the master of the feast. 
Boaz, as courteous in his home as in his field, 
(Ruth ii, 4,) passes around to each, before the 
company is seated, and extends his cordial 
salutations. The more formal, in greeting 
him, touch with the right hand the breast, the 
lip, and the forehead, as if to say, *^ All that I 
am is friendly to you/' But most of the guests 
exchange with him the more cordial expres- 
sions of friendship, by embracing him and kiss- 
ing his neck and cheeks. (Gen. xxix, 13 ; Luke 
XV, 20.) We recall the complaint of our Lord 
to Simon, for his discourtesy in this respect: 
'* I entered into thine house ; . . . thou gavest 
me no kiss." Luke vii, 44, 45. 

There is also much formality of words ac- 
companying the act of salutation, consisting of 
questions as to the health of each one's family, 
and of his various relations, with many other 
expressions of kindness, and with invocations 
of the blessing of the Lord upon each, 
(l Sam. XXV, 6;) formalities which are repeated 
again and again. Such a routine in saluta- 
tions could not be endured on the street 
or road ; especially must they be evaded if 
one is in a hurry (2 Kings iv, 29) or on impor- 
tant business. The disciples were sent as spe- 
cial messengers, or embassadors, for their Lord 



2^2 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

and King ; and, while he would not teach them 
to be discourteous, they had no time to waste 
in idle salutations, nor were they to fall in 
with the insincerity, flattery and falsehood 
prescribed by the etiquette of their day. 
(Luke X, 4.) 

While the time is thus occupied, let us be just 
a little impolite, and notice the make-up of 
the room and the company. We are in the 




THE GUEST-CHAMBER, 



largest apartment of the house, sometimes 
called the ^^ upper room,'* which is used, as cir- 
cumstances may require, for the guest-chamber, 
the dining-room, or the sleeping apartment. 
Windows, or more properly wind-doors — for 



In the Guest-Chamber, 223 

they are of open lattice-work, for ventilation, 
with no glass — are on the side toward the court 
or yard. (Acts xx, 9.) Around the cornice of 
the room, and on the casings of the windows, 
various portions of the law are inscribed in 
large characters. (Deut. vi, 6-9.) The floor 
is without a carpet, but is composed of marble 
of various colors, set in beautiful mosaic. 

The walls are not a dead flat surface, but are 
broken up into various recesses and niches, in 
which are placed stone water-jars, (John ii, 6,) 
cabinet boxes, jars of perfumery, and vases of 
flowers. Each of these articles is highly orna- 
mented, and they take the place of pictures as 
with us. We notice no chairs, no piano or cen- 
ter table, and no pictures on the walls. The 
latter are supposed by the Jews to be forbid- 
den by the second of the ten commandments. 
Around the three sides of the room are lounges 
or divans, on which the guests are to recline. 
Across one end, and elevated some distance 
above the floor, is an orchestra for musicians. 
(Eccles. xii, 4 ; Luke xv, 25.) From the ceiling 
are suspended seven-branched lamps, filled with 
salt and olive oil ; also, neatly festooned by 
cords from side to side, are lanterns of wa:^ed 
linen and oiled paper, in brilliant colors. The 
many lights and rich colors, combining with the 



224 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

rich garments of the guests, present to the eye 
a scene of entrancing beauty. 

We notice that the company is composed 
entirely of men. Ruth and her female friends 
have retired to an apartment by themselves. 
In families and on ordinary occasions women 
partook of their meals with the male members, 
(Job i, 4; Ruth ii, 14,) and even at feasts they 
might be there as attendants, (Matt, xxvi, 7,) 
and especially might matrons mingle with the 
guests. (John ii, 3.) Yet on so formal an oc- 
casion as a marriage supper the women feasted 
separate from the men. (Judg. xiv, 11 ; Esther 
i, g, 12 ; Psa. xlv, 14, 15.) We may not, there- 
fore, look on at the supper of Ruth and her 
friends ; but we feel assured that their joy is no 
less than that of Boaz and his company. (Jer. 
xxxiii, II.) Naomi does not now call herself 
Mara, (Ruth i, 20,) but is willing to be ad- 
dressed by her true name, as she shares with 
Ruth the congratulations of their friends, for 
to both the cup of happiness seems full. 

Provisions for washing the hands and feet 
was a very important duty of hospitality, 
and this must be attended to before eating. 
Notice here how customs correspond one 
with the other, as by a chain of necessities. 
As the guests do not sit on chairs, but recline 



In the Giiest'Chamber. 



225 



on couches, their shoes are left at the door of 
the room. And as these form a meager cov- 
ering, being mere soles or sandals bound under 




WASHING HAKDS BEFORE MEALS. 

the feet, and as the guests have marched in 
the procession through the dusty roads, water 
is essential for personal comfort and cleanli- 
ness. And as no knives or forks are used at 
the table, it is necessary that the hands should 
be washed as well as the feet. 

This practice prevailed from remote antiq- 
uity. Abraham, on receiving his guests at 
Mamre, first sent his servants for water to wash 
their feet. The Greeks washed themselves be- 
fore they went to a feast, for they regarded it 

very indecent to appear on such an occasion 
?9 



226 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

defiled with the sweat and dust of the journey. 
The Saviour did not teach his disciples to ne- 
glect this duty, but only the ceremonial feature 
of it, which the Pharisees carried to such ex- 
cess. (Mark vii, 6-13.) He reminds another 
Pharisee of his discourtesy to him because he 
neglected to provide water for his feet when 
he invited him to eat with him. (Luke vii, 44.) 
The neglect of Simon was the more repre- 
hensible, because his guest had no home 
in which to have attended to this duty pre- 
vious to his coming. 

The servants of Boaz, provided with a towel, 
pitcher, and basin, are busy in their lowly oc- 
cupation. The basins have double bottoms, the 
upper ones full of holes, so that the hands are 
not dipped in, but water is poured upon them 
profusely, (2 Kings iii, 1 1 ;) after which they 
are wiped with a towel. Though the Egyp- 
tians sometimes had golden vessels for thispur- 
pose, yet they ordinarily were not held in high 
esteem, because of the lowly service in which 
they were employed. Hence it is said of the 
Moabites, '* Moab is my wash-pot.'' Psa. Ix, 8. 
They are the meanest of God's instruments. 
(2 Sam. viii, 2.) 

Great men sometimes had a special servant 
to wash the hands and feet who was regarded 



In the Guest-Chamber. 227 

as in very intimate relations with his master. 
It was taken for granted that EHsha possessed 
much of the spirit of EHjah because he poured 
water on his hands. (2 Kings iii, 11.) 

The towel, from its lowly use, was the badge 
of humility. (John xiii, 4, 5.) It was once men- 
tioned as a mark of the intolerable pride of 
the Roman Emperor Caligula, that when at 
supper he suffered senators to stand by his 
couch girt with towels. 

Should Boaz have washed the feet of some 
of his guests, while it would not have been in- 
consistent with his rank, yet we might have 
taken it as a mark of great condescension and 
affection shown to such persons. It was not 
deemed beneath the dignity of noble women 
to perform this lowly act. The daughter of 
Cleobulus, a Grecian sage, had such respect 
for her father's guests that she did not hesitate 
to wash their feet. Thus, too, Abigail felt to- 
ward David's guests, when sent for to become 
his wife, (i Sam. xxv, 41.) Paul directs Tim- 
othy that in dispensing the charities of the 
Church he shall have especial regard for those 
widows who have *' washed the saints' feet." 
I Tim. V, 10. This act, so expressive of humility 
and affection, finds a marked illustration in the 
devotion of Mary to her Lord at the supper 



22 8 Wheat from the Fields of Boa^. 

table, (Luke vii, 38,) and still more strikingly 
in Christ^s condescension to his disciples at the 
last supper. (John xiii, 4.) 

We are excused from the performance of so 
lowly a duty, but we must never forget that 
** the disciple is not above his master, nor the 
servant above his lord/' We need daily to 
keep in view and to exercise the spirit of this 
act. Love to Christ dignifies any service 
rendered in his name. 

-^;^^^';^//;i!^ with perfumed olive oil was an- 
other important preliminary to a feast. It is 
evident from the Egyptian monuments that 
this mark of hospitality was shown to guests, 
and from the many allusions in the Old Testa- 
ment to fragrant perfumes and anointing, we 
infer that it was borrowed from Egypt, and 
was common among the Jews. The first direct 
reference to it, as a proper preparation for a 
feast, is in the Saviour's complaint to Simon. 
(Luke vii, 46.) 

The material used was sometimes pure olive 
oil, (Psa. xxiii, 5,) though usually other in- 
gredients, noted for imparting a pleasant fra- 
grance, were mixed with this. The **holy 
anointing oil " was composed of myrrh, sweet 
cinnamon, sweet calamus, cassia and olive 
oil. (Exod. XXX, 23, 24.) That used by Mary 



tyi the Guest 'Chamber. ±^g 

to anoint Christ (Mark xiv, 3) is called the 
ointment of spikenard, because this precious 
aromatic plant was one of the principal in- 
gredients. 

Some of these ointments were very precious 
and expensive. Among the camp treasures, 
worthy of note, captured by Alexander from 
Darius, king of Persia, was a case of choice 
unguents. When king Hezekiah wished to im- 
press the embassadors of the king cf Babylon, 
he showed them, among other things, his silver, 
his gold, and his precious ointments, (2 Kings 
XX, 13.) Solomon compares such ointment to 
the priceless treasure of a good name. (Eccles. 
vii, I.) The value of the pound of ointment, 
used by Mary in anointing Christ, as expressed 
in the complaint of Judas, (John xii, 5,) was 
about equal to forty-five dollars. 

The casket in which it was kept was often 
as expensive as the article itself. Some of 
these were gold boxes, or ivory, or pearl, inlaid 
with gold ; but they were often oval, narrow- 
necked vases of the finest white alabaster, each 
vase holding about half a pint. In addition 
to its beauty, the material of which it was 
made was supposed to be especially adapted 
to preserve the fragrance of the ointment. 

The name of the vessel was derived from the 



230 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

town, Alabastron, in upper Egypt, where was a 
quarry of this precious marble from which it 
was made. The value of Mary's offering may 




ALABASTER VASES. 



not have been so much in the casket as in the 
pure ointment, for the name, alabaster, came 
at length to be applied to all boxes of per- 
fumes, of whatever form or substance. 

It was customary to anoint the head, (Psa. 
xxiii, 5,) the beard, and garments, (Psa. cxxxiii, 
2 ; xlv, 8,) the feet, (Luke vii, 38,) and some- 
times the face (Psa. civ, 15) and entire body. 
You would rather deem it repulsive than a 
luxury to have the hair, beard, face, and cloth- 
ing smeared with oil on entering the house of 



In the Guest-Chamber, 231 

a friend, or on sitting down to a bridal supper. 
Your barber, however, approaches this when, 
before he finishes his work, he will, if you allow 
it, perfume the head and face. So, too, the 
thoughtful hostess, sees that the dressing table 
of the guest-chamber is supplied with bay- 
rum or other perfumes, with which to refresh 
the wearied guest. 

But this peculiar usage among the Orientals 
grew out of the condition of their climate. If 
the feet were chafed, after the long marching 
in the bridal procession, anointing would 
mollify the wounds ; it would also suppress 
perspiration, which, if too copious, would en- 
feeble the body. But more especially, as a 
number of persons would be assembled at a 
feast, and would be necessarily in close contact 
with each other, from their mode of reclin- 
ing, anointing after washing would be deemed 
very desirable for health, cleanliness, and 
personal comfort. 

This custom prevails, even to this day, all 
over the East. Travelers on becoming guests 
of important personages have their head, face, 
hands, and clothing, sprinkled with a profusion 
of rose-water or other aromatics. Roberts 
observes that on festive occasions unsophisti- 
cated Englishmen could scarcely endure the 



232 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

powerful aromatic odor of the guest-chamber, 
and that he was often glad to escape from the 
perfumed throng and breathe again the un- 
tainted air of heaven. 

The high value set on ointments in Bible 
times, shown by ranking them with precious 
jewels, (2 Kings xx, 13,) and the great loss 
sustained by being deprived of them, (Deut. 
xxviii, 40; Micah vi, 15,) show that anoint- 
ing was no ordinary compliment paid to a 
guest. David, speaking of the coming Messiah, 
in the high-wrought imagery of a nuptial song, 
refers to his anointing as if the very essence of 
the aromatic herbs and trees composed his 
garments. (Psa. xlv, 7, 8.) And again, in con- 
templating God's goodness to him, he sees 
himself as the honored guest of his heavenly 
Father, who has prepared for him a table, and 
hospitably anointed him with oil. (Psa. xxiii, 5.) 

In this spirit Mary studiously provided the 
costly offering for the head and feet of her 
Lord, and now that Simon, who sees in him 
only the common wayfarer, has neglected to 
show him this common courtesy, she gladly 
embraces the opportunity to prove her attach- 
ment to him. And though Simon's perfidious 
son complains of her extravagance, (John 
xii, 5,) yet Christ acknowledges the act, and 



Ill the Guest-Chamber, 233 

pronounces upon her the highest expression 
of praise. The fragrance of that ointment filled 
the house of Simon, but the fragrance of that 
loving act has spread its sweet perfume to the , 
memory of Mary through all the ages, as her 
Lord said it would. 

Thus, in connection with the washing of the 
hands and feet, the servants of Boaz proceed to 
anoint the guests, and the occasion calls forth 
a profuse supply. (Eccles. ix, 8.) Not to have 
been anointed would have been equivalent to 
wearing the badge of mourning. (2 Sam. 
xiv, 2.) The bridal feast was no place for this. 
The happiness of the occasion was expressed 
in the very act. (Prov. xxvii, 9.) Each face bore 
the sign of joy. (Psa. civ, 15.) The very air they 
breathed was filled with the aroma of sweet 
spices, (Psa. xlv, 8,) and every heart felt the 
anointing of the '^ oil of gladness." Psa. xlv, 7. 

One other important duty must precede the 
feast. Although each guest came dressed in 
his gayest attire, yet each must receive an ad- 
ditional mantle, provided by Boaz, called the 
wedding garment. (Matt, xxii, 12.) The 
material was of a rich texture, and of white or 
a light color. (Eccles. ix, 8; Rev. vi, 11.) 'No 
attention need be paid to the size of the robe 
or the person wearing it, for such garments 



234 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

were not close-fitting, as with us ; hence the 
frequent aUusion, in the Bible, to the gift of 
changes of raiment. The person accepting 
and wearing this festive robe thus expressed 
his hearty sympathy with the joyous occasion 
and his cordial friendship for him who had 
provided the feast. Hence to have appeared 
in any other dress would have shown disre- 
spect to the bridegroom, and would have 
marred the pleasure of the guests. 

Look now over this festive scene : lights 
brilliant, flowers bright and profuse, dresses 
gorgeous, and all countenances beaming with 
joy. Is there one spot on this feast of charity ? 
Even one of this happy company clad in an un- 
becoming manner? How soon the eye would 
detect him, (Matt, xxii, ii,) and he would be- 
come a mark of observation to all ! Even so 
would it be amid the happy throng of the re- 
deemed, should one enter there without the 
robe of a Saviour's righteousness ! 



A round the Festive Board, 235 



CHAPTER XIX. 

AROUND THE FESTIVE BOARD. 

THE arrangements of the supper table and 
of the guests, in partaking of a feast, have 
much to do with the development of the social 
feelings and the finer qualities of our nature. 
Hence it is of interest to us to know just how 
the guests of Boaz were disposed of at this 
feast. Long before his time the Egyptians 
sometimes banqueted in separate groups of 
three or four at a table, while on other occa- 
sions, the table being placed along the sides 
of the room, the guests sat on one side, each 
facing the wall. Men high in station often 
partook of their food at banquets, by them- 
selves, at the head of the room. 

Joseph, his brethren, and the Egyptians, 
each had a separate table ; but the reason for 
this is distinctly stated to have been ceremo- 
nial. (Gen. xliii, 32.) His brethren seem to 
have all sat at one table, for the order is giv- 
en, each according to his age. (Gen. xliii, 33.) 
This table may have been long or round, for 



236 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

both are represented in the mural paintings. 
At Samson's wedding-feast all the guests seem 
to have assembled at one common table ; for 
their host put forth a riddle to all of them. 
(Judges xiv, 12.) And such was, doubtless, the 
arrangement of the company at the feast of 
Boaz. 

The position of these guests at the table 
cannot be so clearly seen. The primitive mode 
was to sit on the ground ; afterward stools or 
chairs would be considered a great invention 
and luxury. The Egyptians both used chairs 
and sat cross-legged on mats on the floor, and 
chairs were undoubtedly used by the Jews. 
This was a part of the furniture provided by 
the Shunammites for the prophet's chamber. 
(2 Kings iv, 10.) Isaac sat at the table to eat 
his venison. (Gen. xxvii, 19.) So, too, David 
sat with King Saul at his table, (i Sam. 
XX, 5,) as the original in both these cases would 
indicate. 

The custom of reclining on couches at meals 
is supposed by some to have been borrowed 
by the Jews from the Romans, but it is known 
to have been older than the Roman age, and 
prevailed among the Jews long before the in- 
troduction of Roman customs in Judea. Wil- 
kinson says that divans and couches were 



Aroimd the Festive Board. 237 

among the dining-room furniture of the Egyp- 
tians, and hence must have been used by them 
at feasts. Hengstenberg thinks from Gen. 
xviii, 4, that the patriarchs recHned on couches 
at meals. Layard found couches, highly orna- 
mented, among the ruins of Nineveh ; and at 
least from the time of Queen Esther they 
were used by the Jews. (Esther i, 6; vii, 8.) 
Amos speaks of beds of ivory on which the 
luxurious people stretched themselves to eat 
the lam.bs of the flock and the calves of the 
stall, (Amos vi, 4;) while Ezekiel speaks of a 
^'stately bed, with a table prepared before it.'* 
(Ezek. xxiii, 41.) In the New Testament age 
reclining at meals was the universal custom. 
(Matt, ix, 10; John xii, 2.) The posture of 
the guests of Boaz was, therefore, either sit- 
ting on chairs or reclining on couches ; and as 
the latter was the more common in Bible times, 
we prefer to describe theirs as such. 

The tables were composed of sections, each 
designed for three persons, and were arranged 
by placing one section across the room, and 
joining one to each end of this first ; the latter 
being extended by adding other sections, as 
the number of guests might demand. Thus 
the inner Ime would form three sides of a 
square, or a parallelogram, the fourth being 



238 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

left open to allow the servants to supply the 
guests at all three of the tables. 

The couches were placed around the tables ; 
these were a frame-work of wood, the front of 
which was somewhat higher than the table, 




RECLINING AT THE FEAST, 
"lie sat down, and the twelve disciples with him." 

and the back lower, so as to produce a slight 
inclination toward the floor. Sometimes the 
legs and sides were elaborately carved or in- 
laid with ivory, pearl, or gold. But as Boaz 
was a plain farmer, he would, doubtless, discard 
such extravagant furniture. Mattresses were 
placed on the frames, stuffed with wool and 
covered with rich damask silk. On these were 
cushions or pillows to be placed under the el- 
bow of the left arm, which supported the body, 



Around the Festive Board. 239 

while the right arm was used in handling the 
food. 

While the tables are thus being arranged 
the company is regaled with music by the 
hired players in the orchestra, and flowers are 
profusely distributed. Meanwhile the guests 
move about the room, indulging in social talk 
or gossip. The free use of the tongue on such 
occasions is an old-fashioned custom, that has 
been handed down unimpaired to the present 
time. Nor does it seem to be confined alone 
to Bible lands. 

Before taking their places at the table, it 
was necessary for the guests to select from 
their number a governor of the feast, (John 
ii, 8,) who was not only to preside, but to pre- 
serve order and decorum, and attend to the 
general management of the festivities. He 
was to taste of the food and wi (John ii, 9) 
before they were brought to the table, see that 
all were supplied, and if any one seemed to be 
drinking to excess he quietly mingled water 
with his wine. 

As the office was one of considerable re- 
sponsibility and delicacy, the person selected 
must be known to possess the requisite quali- 
ties — to be genial, witty, capable of pleasing 
all, and yet temperate and firm. We have his 



240 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

duties and character portrayed in one of the 
apocryphal books : ^' If thou be made the mas- 
ter of a feast, lift not thyself up, but be among 
them as one of the rest, take diligent care for 
them, and so sit down. And when thou hast 
done all thy office, take thy place, that thou 
mayest be merry with them, and receive a 
crown for thy well-ordering of the feast/' Ec- 
clesiasticus xxxii, i, 2. 

And now, as the music ceases, the governor 
announces that the feast is ready. Boaz takes 
his position on the couch at the head of the 
table, having at his right, which is the place 
of honor, perhaps some one of the elders of 
the city as his favored guest, while each of the 
company measures with his eye the place he 
deems suited to his rank, and at once elbows 
his way to it, lest some one else should occupy 
it before him. (See Kitto's ^^ Travels in Per- 
sia,'' p. 169.) No little difficulty was often 
created in settling this point of etiquette. 
Then, as now, there were plenty of self-impor- 
tant persons who insisted on advertising their 
estimate of themselves by their assumption. 
The pride of such persons would not unfre- 
quently find a grievous downfall in the pres- 
ence of the assembly, as they were invited by 
the master of ceremonies to a lower seat at 



Around the Festive Board. 241 

the table, to make place for the truly worthy. 
Luke XIV, 9, 10. 

Dr. Clark tells us that at a wedding^feast he 
attended, in the house of a wealthy merchant 
at Acre, two persons who had taken a place 
above their rank were thus invited down by 
the host, not a little to their own discomfort 
and the diversion of the company. Solomon 
says : *' Put not forth thyself in the presence 
of the king, and stand not in the place of great 
men : for better it is that it be said unto thee, 
Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put 
lower in the presence of the prince whom 
thine eyes have seen." Prov. xxv, 6, 7. And 
a greater than Solomon has said, as He no- 
ticed this jostling for chief places among the 
Pharisees, ^' Whosoever shall exalt himself 
shall be abased ; and he that shall humble him- 
self shall be exalted." Matt, xxiii, 12. Per- 
haps Pharisees were not numbered among the 
friends of Boaz, or, at least, their spirit may not 
have been as arrogant as in later times ; hence 
there was not so much contending for the chief 
seats. 

Look now over this company reclining at 

the feast, and notice in their positions a few 

illustrations of sacred truth. Reclining thus, 

as our Lord did at the supper-table of Simon, 
31 



242 Wlicat from the Fields of Boaz, 

Mary could approach him from the open space 
in front of the tables, mingling with the serv- 
ants, and anoint his head, then, passing behind 
the couch, quietly anoint his feet. So unos- 
tentatious was the act that it seems not to 
have disturbed her Lord while eating, nor to 
have attracted the attention of the other 
guests until the perfume of the ointment had 
diffused itself through the room. (John xii, 3.) 
So, too, the woman that was a sinner, at the 
house of the other Simon, could stand at the 
feet of Christ, and, as she wept, bedew those 
feet with her tears, and wipe them with her 
loosened tresses. (Luke vii, 38.) According to 
our manner of sitting at the table it would 
have been impossible to have shown such acts 
of devotion, but the feet of one reclining were 
easily accessible. 

Reclining thus, each guest would rest the 
head on or near the person next behind him ; 
hence he was said to '^ lie on his bosom.'* Luke 
xvi, 22, 23. Being in such close proximity, it 
would be very agreeable for friend to be next 
to friend ; hence the ^^ disciple whom Jesus 
loved ** was next to him on the right — '' leaned 
on his bosom '* — at the last supper. John 
must have recalled this privilege with sweet 
satisfaction when, more than sixty years after 



Around the Festive Board, 243 

that memorable occasion, he wrote of ^* the 
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of 
the Father/' John i, 18. 

From John's position, with his Hps nearest 
the ears of Christ, he had the best opportunity 
for holding a confidential conference with him. 
(John xiii, 25.) And from the fact that Christ 
handed the sop to Judas, (John xiii, 26,) it 
would seem that he occupied the place next to 
our Saviour on the left. If the reader will put 
himself in the position of the latter at the 
table, resting the body on the elbow of the left 
arm, and thus with only the right arm untram- 
meled, he will see how difficult it is to hand 
an article to any person farther than the one 
immediately to the right or the left of him. 
This fact gives a deeper blackness to the 
perfidy of the traitor. While his Lord 
was reposing his head upon his bosom, he 
was revolving in his mind the reward of his 
treachery. 

Reclining on the bosom of another was ex- 
pressive of endeared and intimate relations. 
Hence the Saviour is said to dwell in the 
bosom of the Father. Thus Lazarus is said 
to have been carried by the angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom, (Luke xvi, 22,) and he was seen 
by the rich man in this position. What a con- 



^44 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

trast between his position here and there ! 
So poor here as to beg a few crumbs from the 
rich man's table, he was exalted at the heaven- 
ly banquet to be next to Abraham, the father 
of the faithful. 




The Viands of the Feast. 245 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE VIANDS OF THE FEAST. 

THE forms of etiquette being settled, as to 
places at the table, and all the guests 
around it,thehotviands are ready to bebrought. 
As the servants hurry about in the discharge 
of their duties there is perfect order, their feet 
seeming to keep time with the music in the 
orchestra. What had they for supper? is a 
question that usually needs to be settled when 
speaking of a bridal feast. And from the terms 
** a great supper," '' a feast of fat things full of 
marrow," and kindred expressions of the Bible, 
we infer that as much attention was given to 
the viands in that day as with us. 

The food thus prepared was characterized 
by the quantity and quality of the supply 
rather than by the great variety. Thus, Sarah 
kneaded about three pecks of meal for the 
bread, while Abraham killed a calf, and these, 
with other things in proportion, were not 
deemed an extravagant supply for the three 
guests. (Gen. xviii, 6, 7.) Jacob v/as sent to 



246 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

bring two kids to make a savory dish for his 
father's dinner. (Gen. xxvii, 9.) 

Bread was by far the most important article 
on the table. Indeed, it was so prominent at 
every meal that frequently this one word was 
deemed sufficient to describe the entire bill of 
fare. Thus, Reuel bade his daughters invite 
Moses to come and '^ eat bread with him," 
(Exodus ii, 20,) while, of course, this was not 
the only food prepared. The good housewife 
of our land would apologize more than she 
usually does if this staple was all she had to 
place before her guests. Yet give to-day, to 
three fourths of the people of Palestine, bread, 
or the grain of which it is made in some of its 
forms, with scarcely any thing else from year 
to year, and they will eat their meals with 
thankful hearts. A great variety of articles 
were used to give relish to bread, such as salt, 
(Job vi, 6,) sour wine, called *' vinegar,** (Ruth 
ii, 14,) milk, sweet or sour, (Gen. xviii, 8,) the 
broth of meat, (Judges vi, 19 ; John xiii, 26,) 
indeed, nearly all kinds of food, were but acces- 
sories to this one staple supply. 

Milk and its various preparations were next 
to bread in importance at all meals. While, 
from its simple and nutritious properties, it is 
alluded to as the food of children, (i Peter ii, 2,) 



The Viands of the Feast. 247 

yet it was among the substantials for the diet 
of all classes and ages. It is frequently referred 
to as an emblem of the wealth and abundance 
of Palestine. The expression, *^ A land flowing 
with milk and honey," is repeated about twenty 
times in the Old Testament. So, also, to *^ suck 
the milk*' of an enemy's country, (Isa. Ix, 16,) 
w^as to absorb its wealth and resources. 

Other animals as well as cows furnished milk 
for the table. Moses speaks (Deut. xxxii, 14) 
of the "butter of kine and milk of sheep," as 
among the rich products of the land. Jacob 
presented to his brother Esau, among other 
cattle, *' thirty milch camels," (Gen. xxxii, 15,) 
hence their milk was also used. And Solo- 
mon (Prov. xxvii, 27) speaks of goat's milk as 
among the most coveted luxuries of his day, 
as it is at present in Palestine. 

Milk was used in its natural state, but more 
frequently when sour or coagulated, what is 
called leben by the modern inhabitants. The 
process of its preparation is, to boil the milk 
over a slow fire, stirring into it a small portion 
of old leben or some other acid to make it 
curdle. In this state it possesses the power to 
intoxicate, if kept long enough. It is consid- 
ered quite wholesome and refreshing in the 
East, and is the first drink invariably offered 



248 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

to travelers. For an ordinary beverage it in 
great part takes the place of wine, used so pro- 
fusely in other countries. Many of the poorer 
classes almost live upon it ; while the more 
wealthy eat it with salad, bread, and meat at 
feasts. Without doubt, it was a common bev- 
erage in the time of Boaz. 

It is difficult to know whether the table of 
Boaz was supplied with butter and cheese, or 
not ; for it is not known how far these terms 
used in the Scriptures correspond to our ideas 
of them. Scholars generally believe that the 
term butter^ used so frequently in the Old 
Testament, with one or two exceptions, refers 
to leben. Such sour milk, translated butter, 
was furnished by Abraham for his heavenly 
guests, (Gen. xviii, 8^) This view of the term 
gives a clearer understanding of the conduct 
of Jael, (Judges v, 25.) Butter, the oily sub- 
stance used by us, would have been poorly 
adapted to meet the first wants of an extreme- 
ly thirsty and wearied fugitive ; but leben 
would have been the most suitable beverage. 
Hence, as the half famished and exhausted 
Sisera threw himself on the tent floor crying 
for water, Jael poured leben from a goat skin 
bottle into a ''lordly dish," (Judges iv, 19,) 
and gave it to him. This was more refreshing 



The Viands of the Feast. 249 

than water, and contributed to the fatal sleep 
of her guest. 

Job, describing his affluence and happy days, 
says : ^* I washed my steps with butter, and 
the rock poured me out rivers of oil." Job 
xxix, 6. Possibly, in this highly figurative 
poetry of the Orient, he meant to convey the 
general idea that his cattle fed on rich past- 
ures, afforded such an abundance of milk and 
leben, that he might be said to wash his steps 
with them ; and that his olive orchards, planted 
on rocky grounds, yielded such an overflowing 
supply that it was as ^' rivers of oil." 

The nearest approach of the Arabs at this 
day to making butter is, by first placing the 
milk in a copper pan over a slow fire, throw- 
ing into it a little leben, and, when it is sepa- 
rated from the whey, putting it into a goat- 
skin bottle, tying it to an upright tent pole, 
and churning it by subjecting it for about two 
hours to a vigorous shaking, kneading, and 
squeezing process. When the butter has 
'*come" the water is pressed out, and after 
a time the residue is again placed over a slow 
fire and boiled. During the boiling, wheat 
that has been boiled and dried, and some 
leben, are thrown in to precipitate all the for- 
eign substances, which, being skimmed off, the 
82 



250 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

butter remains quite clear. This is put into 
goat-skin bottles for subsequent use. In win- 
ter it is white, of the color and consistence 




CHURNING BUTTER. 



of lard, but in summer it is like oil. Those 
who can afford its use eat it with bread and 
honey as a great delicacy; but it is highly 



The Viands of the Feast. 25 1 

probable that we Americans would have little 
relish for it. Such was, doubtless, the ^* butter 
of kine " with which Jeshurim was so highly 
favored. (Deut. xxxii, 14.) 

Solomon must have had his mind on such a 
process of churning when he used the double 
comparison, ^* Surely the churning of milk 
bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the 
nose bringeth forth blood : so the forcing of 
wrath bringeth forth strife." Prov. xxx, 33. 
Thomson forcibly says : '^ There is no analogy 
between our mode of churning and pulling a 
man's nose till the blood comes ; but noticing 
that the word for churning and wringing is the 
same in the Hebrew, and looking at the proc- 
ess, we see the force of the allusion." Just as 
the Arab women shake, and knead, and wring 
the cream in churning, so strife is brought 
forth between individuals by their bottling up 
a little wrath and churning it. 

Cheese is only mentioned three times in the 
Bible, and by three different Hebrew words, 
each of which is of doubtful meaning. The 
Arabs at present salt well the curd of milk 
and dry it in cakes about the size of a saucer, 
and eat it mixed with butter ; and this is, p'er- 
haps, the nearest approach the ancients ever 
came to cheese. Such was, doubtless, that 



252 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

made at Bethlehem by the immediate descend- 
ants of Boaz, as we infer from the ten cakes 
sent with parched corn by Jesse to the camp 
of Saul, (i Sam. xvii, 18.) 

The best of the flock and the fatted calf cow- 
tributed to this bridal feast ; yet meats of all 
kinds were used sparingly. From the heat of 
the climate, it would be unwholesome to use 
meat to a great extent ; and as it could not be 
preserved for any length of time, the whole 
animal must be consumed at once, thus ren- 
dering such provision expensive. Still further, 
the ceremonial law put many restrictions on 
the use of it. It is worthy of notice that there 
was a beneficent as well as a moral design in 
this prohibition of the flesh of animals pro- 
nounced unclean, based on the laws of health. 
Pork, for instance, would have been very un- 
wholesome in that warm climate. 

For these reasons meat was used only as 
a delicacy on occasions of hospitality, (Gen. 
xviii, 7,) at religious, (Exod. xii, 8,) social, or 
public feasts, (i Kings i, 9 ; i Chron. xii, 40,) 
and in royal households. The daily require- 
ment for Solomon's table was, *^ ten fat oxen, 
and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hun- 
dred sheep, besides harts, and roebucks, and 
fallow deer, and fatted fowl.'' i Kings iv, 23. 



The Viands of the Peast. 2^3 

The meats used in Bible times were those 
of the animals just mentioned, and also of 
calves, (i Sam. xxviii, 24,) often called fat- 
lings, (Luke XV, 23,) lambs, (Amos vi, 4.) Fish 
was likewise an important article of food, es- 
pecially about the Sea of Galilee, (John vi, 9 ; 
xxi, 9.) These were eaten either with bread 
(Matt. XV, 36) or with honey-comb. (Luke 
xxiv, 42.) 

Sometimes a lamb or a kid was roasted en- 
tire, (Exod. xii, 46;) but usually the flesh of 
all animals was cut up into small pieces and 
boiled, and the choice marrow bones were 
broken and thrown into the pot with the 
meat, while the other bones were thrown on 
the fire. (Ezek. xxiv, 4, 5.) 

Meat seems never to have been eaten by it- 
self; but sometimes with bread, milk, and sour 
milk, (Gen. xviii, 8 ;) though usually it was 
served as a broth, seasoned with salt and spices, 
(Judges vi, 19.) Sometimes it was so highly 
spiced that the native flavor could not be per- 
ceived, (Gen. xxvii, 4-25 ; Prov. xxiii, 3.) 

Honey was also a delicacy at feasts. This 
was among the luxuries provided for the royal 
repast of King David, by his faithful and loyal 
subjects at Mahanaim, during his exile. (2 Sam. 
xvii, 29.) And doubtless it was one of the 



254 Wheat frovi the Fields of Boaz. 

dainties on the table at this wedding festival 
of his distinguished ancestor. Some of the 
terms translated honey in the common version 
refer to all sweet substances, as sugar with us. 
Thus the juice of dates or grapes, boiled down 
to a syrup, is supposed to have been the article 
sent, among other delicacies, by Jacob to the 
governor of Egypt. (Gen. xliii, ii.) This is 
extensively used at present by the natives of 
Palestine, and is called dibs. 

But the honey most frequently spoken of in 
the Scriptures is the product of bees. The 
abundance of this in Palestine is inferred from 
the frequent mention of the Land of Promise 
as a *' land flowing with milk and honey.'* 
Few countries are better adapted to the pro- 
duction of honey than this. Its dry climate, 
its profusion of flowers, plants, and even trees, 
possessing in great part aromatic properties, 
and the many rocks, whose dry recesses afford 
shelter for the combs, all contribute to this 
abundance. The profuse supply .of honey 
found there to this day is one of the marked 
vindications of the verity of the scriptural 
account of that land. It is spoken of as one 
of the commodities of export. (Ezek. xxvii, 17.) 

It was sometimes used as we use sugar, with 
other articles, to furnish a palatable pastry ; 



The Viands of the Feast. 255 

hence it is spoken of as an image of pleasure. 
(Psa. cxix, 103 ; Song of Sol. iv, 1 1 .) Usually it 
was eaten with other food. Thus John the Bap- 
tist ate it with locusts. (Matt, iii, 4.) Christ and 
the apostles used it with broiled fish, (Luke 
xxiv, 42,) but it was oftener used with milk, 
(Song of Sol. iv, II,) and especially with leben, 
(butter.) 

The wild bees plaster their combs on the 
fissures of perpendicular rocks, which when 
filled they cover with a dark-colored wax, not 
easily distinguished from the rock itself. The 
natives make an incision in the outer coat, 
and, applying the lips, suck the honey from the 
comb. This explains the allusion of Moses, 
"He made him to suck honey out of the 
rock.'' Deut. xxxii, 13. Thus, too, the rocks 
are spoken of as the treasure-house of bees. 
" With honey out of the rock should I have 
satisfied thee." Psa. Ixxxi, 16. 

Among the fruits that were served on this 
joyous occasion figs were most highly prized. 
The esteem in which this fruit was held by the 
inhabitants of Palestine is seen from the fact 
that to have had a failure for one season was 
deemed a terrible calamity. (Jer. viii, 13 ; Joel 
i, 12.) The fruitfulness of the fig-tree was 
taken as a special sign of the divine favor. 



256 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

(Joel ii, 22.) It often yielded three crops a 
year; the ''first ripe figs/' (Hosea ix, 10,) the 
^'summer fruit," (Amos viii, i,) gathered in 
autumn, and the '' green figs " which hung on 
through the winter. (Song of Sol. ii, 13.) The 
*' first ripe fruit " was esteemed a great luxury, 
(Micah vii, i,) and was eaten as fresh fruit, 
but generally figs were dried and pressed into 
cakes, called either '' summer fruit,'' (2 Sam. 
xvi, I,) or ''cakes of figs," (i Sam. xxv, 18,) 
which were among the delicacies of feasts, 
(i Chron. xii, 40.) 

Grapes were another favorite. As they are 
adapted to a hilly and rocky soil, Palestine 
was well suited to their culture. Vineyards 
abounded there even before the Jews settled 
in the land. The spies sent out by Moses 
found such excellent grapes at Eshcol, that 
they cut off one cluster and carried it back 
between two men on a staff. (Num. xiii, 23.) 

These very fields of Boaz, noted in his day 
for wheat, produced grapes so abundantly at 
an earlier day that the town on the hill was 
called Ephrath — place of fruit. And it is 
worthy of observation that at present the ter- 
raced ridges about Bethlehem fully sustain their 
ancient reputation for the rich products of the 
vine. Single clusters are produced there that 



The Viands of the Feast. 



257 



will weigh ten or twelve pounds, with grapes 
as large as plums. The natives cut off a clus- 




A CLUSTER OF GRAPES FROM ESHCOL. 

ter and lay it on a board, around which they 
sit, while each one helps himself to as many as 
he may desire. -,-:.; ,... 

The vintage season was nextito!tiie, harvest 
in importance. The vine and its products 
afforded a frequent metaphor in the Scriptures. 
(Psa. Ixxx, 8-10; Isa. v, 2, 4; John xv, 1-6.) 
Grapes for the table seem.to "have been gener- 
ally used in a dried state, as raiisins, and were 

considered a proper delicacy for feasts. Thus 
33 



258 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

Abigail took, among other good things, a hun- 
dred clusters of raisins, with which to propitiate 
David, (i Sam. xxv, 18.) So, too, the inhabit- 
ants brought from all part of the land bunches 
of raisins, with cakes of figs, and other delica- 
cies, for the same monarch's coronation feast, 
(i Chron. xii, 40.) 

Vegetables do not seem to have been much 
in demand, especially at feasts. A meal en- 
tirely of herbs was deemed the poorest fare. 
(Prov, XV, 17 ; Dan. i, 12.) Lentils and beans 
are spoken of most frequently. These formed 
part of the feast provided for King David at 
Mahanaim. (2 Sam. xvii, 28.) Cucumbers, 
melons, leaks, onions, and garlic were especial- 
ly relished by the Israelites when in Egypt. 
(Num. xi, 5.) Lentils and beans were some- 
times roasted and ground together, and baked 
as bread, (Ezek. iv, 9,) though it is probable 
that these, with most other vegetables, were 
boiled with meat and served as pottage. (Gen. 
xxv, 34; 2 Kings iv, 38, 39.) Various vege- 
tables were also used as condiments, to sharp- 
en the appetite ; such as cummin, mint, 
anise, (Matt, xxiii, 23,) coriander, (Exod. 
xvi, 31,) rue, (Luke xi, 42,) and mustard. 
(Matt, xiii, 31.) 

Olive oil was also an important ingredient in 



The Viands of the Feast, 2^g 

many articles of food at the table of Boaz. 
This was expressed from the fruit of the olive 
tree. There were various qualities ; the ear- 
liest product was called the *' beaten oil," 
(Exod. xxvii, 20,) and was used to burn in the 
lamps of the temple ; that from the fruit gath- 
ered in November or December produced the 
article most desired for food. The frequent 
allusions to oil in connection with honey, (Deut. 
xxxii, 13,) corn, and wine, (Deut. xi, 14,) show 
the esteem in which it was held. It is prob- 
able that because of its common use in this 
respect it was adopted as among the sacred 
ingredients to be mingled in the meat-offering. 
(Lev. ii, 4.) 

Solomon sent annually to King Hiram, for 
his men, with the vast supplies of wheat, barley, 
and wine, twenty thousand baths of oil. Es- 
timating the bath at about seven and a half 
gallons, this would be the enormous sum of 
one hundred and fifty thousand gallons. This 
gives us some idea of the attention paid to the 
culture of the olive, and of its relative import- 
ance as food. 

The natives of Syria, at present, use oil in 
cooking, as we use butter or lard. They mix 
it with pastries, and fry eggs, bread, and boiled 
wheat in it. Fresh oil thus used imparts to 



260 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

the food a pleasant flavor, and is more agree- 
able than animal fat. It was mingled with 
the meal for the cake of oblation. (Lev. ii, 4.) 
The widow of Zarephath mixed her scanty- 
supply of oil with meal to furnish a cake for 
the prophet, (i Kings xvii, 13.) And it was 
deemed essential in this case that the oil 
should be as inexhaustible as the meal. Oil 
was among the delicacies provided for David's 
coronation feast at Hebron, (i Chron. xii, 40.) 
It was a strong affirmation of Habakkuk's 
faith in God, when he said, ^^ Although . . . the 
labor of the olive shall fail, . . . yet I will rejoice 
in the Lord.'' Hab. iii, 17, 18. 

In regard to beverages it may be observed 
that the Hebrews, like the Arabs of to-day, 
drank but little of any thing until they had 
finished their meals, and that then their most 
common drink was that which God has pro- 
vided in such abundance and purity, and which 
has been man's best beverage from the begin- 
ning — pure cold water. Other articles, how- 
ever, are spoken of; milk and sour milk seem 
to have had a prominent place at meals, (Gen. 
xviii, 8 ;) the juice of dates and pomegranates 
was sometimes used. (Song of Sol. viii, 2.) 

But, next. to water, the '' fruit of the vine " is 
most frequently referred to as a beverage, used 



The Viands of the Feast. 261 

especially by the wealthy, and on festive oc- 
casions. The mother of Jesus was much 
troubled for fear there should not be a sufficient 
supply for the wedding feast at Cana. (John 
ii, 3.) And this beverage was, doubtless, poured 
out for the guests at the wedding supper of 
Boaz. 

Wine is spoken of by various names, de- 
scriptive of its quality or age. The " new 
wine'' (Prov. iii, 10; Matt, ix, 17) was the 
liquid fresh from the press ; the sweet wine 
(Amos ix, 13) was the purest juice of the 
grape, that which ran out before pressing ; sour 
wine, commonly translated ^^ vinegar," (Ruth 
ii, 14,) was a light acidulated beverage. Such 
was that offered, to Christ when on the cross. 
(John xix, 29.) '^ Mixed wine," was that which 
was mingled with myrrh and other heating 
spices to make it more potent. (Isa. v, 22.) 
Because of its ruinous effects, a woe was pro- 
nounced against those who used it. (Prov. 
xxiii, 29, 30.) Yet all mixed wine was not so 
destructive. We read that ^* Wisdom . . . min- 
gled her wine," (Prov. ix, 2,) which she invites 
all the people freely to drink. Possibly w^ter 
or milk was mingled with wine, to make it a 
safe and nourishing beverage. We read also of 
'•* old wine," (Luke v, 39 ;) which is the same 



262 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

as the '' good wine/' (John ii, 10,) and which 
became such by age. It was the custom of 
fathers on the birth of a son to bury a quan- 
tity, to be reserved for his wedding feast ; and 
this was the first poured out for the guests. 
(John ii, 10.) 

Whatever may have been the kind used at 
the feast of Boaz, two facts are certain. It 
could not have been the mixed wine of the 
drunkards of his day, (Prov. xxiii, 30,) for Boaz 
was not the companion of such persons ; nor 
could he have countenanced a drunken revel, 
such as more than once met the severe male- 
dictions of Jehovah. (Isa. v, 11.) Nor could it 
have been the so-called wine of our day and 
land. The distillation of strong drink from 
wine and other liquqrs was not known in the 
time of Boaz, not even until several hundred 
years after the Christian era. And it was left 
for Americans, of comparatively a recent 
period, to enjoy the unenviable notoriety of 
compounding, from poisonous drugs, with 
scarcely a particle of the juice of the grape, an 
article called wine. 

It is generally believed that Noah was the 
first to preserve the juice of the grape till, by 
fermentation, it possessed the power to intoxi- 
cate ; and that it overthrew him so terribly 



The Viands of the Feast. 263 

because he was ignorant of its strength. But, 
if the excessive use of wine, such as Noah*s, 
came under the solemn denunciations of Je- 
hovah, how terrible in the sight of God must 
be the guilt resting on both those who make 
and those who drink to excess the so-called 
wines of America ! 




264 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

BREAKING BREAD. 

THE phrase ** breaking of bread, so often 
used in Scripture, had its origin in the 
fact that bread was never cut with a knife, but 
always broken. Thus it came to signify re- 
clining at a table, taking a repast, and eating. 
As the Saviour broke the bread which he con- 
secrated at the last supper, the phrase is used 
to express the celebration of that feast. (Acts 
ii, 42.) 

The guests of Boaz are around the table, 
and all are ready to partake of the rich viands. 
Notice, just here, his table outfit. In strong 
contrast with our habits, the tendency of Bible 
times was to cook and serve in the same dish 
a great variety of articles ; such, too, as are 
usually considered by us the most unlike in 
taste. Thus kibhe^ so highly prized at present 
in Palestine, is compounded of cracked wheat, 
boiled and dried, beaten up with meat, onions, 
spices, and nuts ; a preparation that to us 
would forcibly suggest visions of the night- 
mare and dyspepsia. Isaac's savory meat, 



Breaking Bread, 265 

(Genesis xxvii, 31,) was, doubtless composed 
of bread, venison, lentils, onions and garlic, 
saturated with oil, milk and butter, seasoned 
with salt, spiced with mint, anise, and other 
aromatic herbs, with possibly raisins, nuts, and 
sweetmeats. There are many allusions, also, to 
oil and honey, to broiled fish and honey-comb, 
as eaten together. 

Thus at this feast doubtless many articles, 
such as bread, meat, milk, butter, oil, vegeta- 
bles, and condiments, were served in the same 
dish. Hence the ''set out '* of the table was 
very simple. Huge bowls, or dishes, contain- 
ing the food for groups of three, with drinking 
cups, were about the only outfit. Sometimes 
these were of gold or silver, (Esther i, 7,) but 
usually they were of cheaper metal, or of pot- 
ter's clay. 

Before the guests tasted of food Boaz took 

in his hand a loaf of bread, and invoked the 

divine blessing, (i Sam. ix, 13,) and, taking 

also the cup, he gave thanks. (Psa. cxvi, 13.) 

Our Saviour was always careful to set us an 

example in this respect. At the miracles of 

feeding the multitudes, '' looking up to heavei)," 

he blessed the loaves and fishes, (Luke ix, 16, 

Matt. XV, 36;) at the supper at Emmaus *'he 

took bread, and blessed it," (Luke xxiv, 30 ;) 
34. 



266 Wheat frorn the Fields of Boaz. 

and at the last supper he blessed the bread, 
and returned thanks on taking the cup. (Matt. 
xxvi, 26, 27.) From the terms thus used we 
infer that the spirit of the prayer was the in- 
vocation of a blessing on the food and thanks 
for it. Jahn (Bib. Antiq.) gives us the short 
prayer from the Talmud, as follows, ^^ Blessed 
be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, 
who hast produced this food (or this drink) 
from the earth.'* 

The food was not distributed on the table 
promiscuously, as with us, but was portioned 
out by the host, and borne to the guests. Nor 
were the guests alone provided for; the poor 
of Bethlehem were remembered, and portions 
were sent to them direct from the banquet 
chamber by the generous-hearted host. (Neh. 
viii, 10; Esther ix, 19-22.) At family meals 
each member received a portion suited to his 
age and position, (i Sam. i, 5 ;) but in larger 
companies, as at a wedding feast, a portion 
was placed on a tray before groups of three ; 
the amount and quality differing according to 
the rank of the guests or the esteem in which 
they were respectively held. Thus Benjamin, 
the favorite of Joseph, received five times as 
much as each of his brethren, (Gen. xliii, 34,) 
which, perhaps, was not that much in quantity, 



Breaking Bread. 267 

but in greater variety. So, too, Samuel shows 
his attention to Saul, at the feast of thirty, by 
sending him a choice shoulder of a lamb, 
(i Sam. ix, 24.) 

Thus, also, the wine was portioned out to 
each guest in a separate cup. Hence the cup 
came to be a symbol of human destiny ; and 
we read, "' God is the judge : he putteth down 
one, and setteth up another. For in the hand 
of the Lord there is a cup.'' (Psa. Ixxv, 7, 8.) 
So the Saviour speaks of suffering as his lot, 
or cup. (Matt, xxvi, 39.) 

To fill the cup to overflowing was a special 
mark of attention to a guest. David, regard- 
ing himself as the Lord's guest, says, ^' My cup 
runneth over.'' Psa. xxiii, 5. This idea of 
deference to guests is observed to this day in 
Palestine. The highest mark of attention is 
for the host to take from the dish dainty 
morsels of meat or fowl, and pass them to 
one who is to be specially honored. Our 
Saviour meant to honor Judas when he gave 
him the sop, (John xiii, 26,) as if, to the very 
last moment, he would seek to win him by 
kindness. And this act of affection the sacred 
historian is careful to notice ; for herein is 'an- 
other tinge in the dark coloring of the traitor's 
perfidy. 



±68 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

Knives were used by the servants of Boaz 
for severing the joints of an ox or a sheep, and 
for cutting up the meat before cooking, but 
both knives and forks were strangers at his 
table. If a roasted fowl was on the platter the 
host carved it, joint by joint, with his hands 
and fingers. This may seem to us a rude cus- 
tom, yet we are not so many years in advance 
of the ancients in this respect. The use of 
the knife and fork at the table has only been 
known within the period of a little over two 
hundred years. In the time of James I., of 
England, a distinguished traveler named Cor- 
yate, returning from a tour in many lands, men- 
tioned, among other remarkable things he saw 
in Italy, the use of a knife and fork at the ta- 
ble. Thinking them so convenient, he adopted 
them at his own table in England. At first, 
like most reformers, he became a laughing- 
stock among his learned friends for using such 
clumsy things ; but he persevered, and soon 
others followed his example. Until that time 
the people of all nations thought their five or 
ten fingers quite sufficient to assist them in 
eating ; but now, in all civilized countries, I be- 
lieve, they rather prefer the knife and fork to 
the fingers for carving. 

Doubtless, before this, poultry and joints of 



Breaking Bread. 269 

meat were more thoroughly cooked than at 
present, and, instead of rounds of steak, the 
meat was subjected to the mortar and pestle 
before cooking. Indeed, if it were fully known, 
we should, doubtless, be astonished to notice 
the mighty revolution made in domestic affairs 
by the use of these simple articles. This fact 
may allay the severity of our criticism of the 
seeming incivility of using the fingers at the 
supper table of Bible times. No doubt, from 
necessity and habit they used them to their 
entire satisfaction ; and should we, with our 
modern ideas of table etiquette, have read 
them a lecture on the use of the knife and 
fork, they would have replied that *^ fingers 
were made before forks.'* 

Plates for each of the guests were as great 
strangers at this feast as were knives and forks. 
One dish, or bowl, was the common receptacle 
of food for the group reclining on the same 
couch, into which each applied his hand, and 
often a number of hands might have been seen 
diving together into the same vessel. 

The custom was to break a piece of bread 
from the common loaf, fold it spoon-like be- 
tween the forefingers and thumb, and wi'th 
it dip out bits of meat with the dressing. 
Doubtless we should make sorry work in at- 



2/0 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

tempting to help ourselves in this way ; but it 
is noticed that the descendants of Boaz, who 
adhere to this primitive mode, do it with grace 



AROUND THE FESTIVE BOARD. 



and ease, and seldom or never leave traces of 
their eating around the dish or upon the 
person. 



Breaking Bread, 271 

Mr. Tristram thus describes a feast of which 
he partook with the Bedouin Arabs on the 
shores of the Dead Sea : '' Dinner was brought. 
This consisted of a single course, served in a 
huge bowl about a yard in diameter. The bot- 
tom was filled with thin, flat cakes, thinner 
than oat cakes, and which overhung the sides 
as graceful as drapery. On them was heaped 
boiled rice saturated with butter and soup, 
while the dissected parts of the sheep which 
had been slain for the occasion were piled in a 
cone over all. 

*^ The bowl having been placed in the cor- 
ner in front of us, the sheikh and his brother 
sat down opposite to us, but without partaking, 
and, turning up our sleeves, w^e prepared for 
action. Knives and forks are, of course, un- 
known, and we were expected, using only one 
hand, to make balls of the greasy mess and de- 
vour, chucking the morsels into the mouth by 
a dexterous movement of the thumb. This, 
after a little practice, we contrived to do. An 
important piece of etiquette was, for each one 
to have his own digging in the dish, and to 
keep his fingers to it alone. The meat had to 
be rent in strips from the bones, and eaten, too, 
with the fingers." 

Solomon alludes to this mode of taking food 



2/2 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

in speaking of the sluggard, who, when he had 
hidden his hand in the dish before him, (not in 
his bosom, as in the common version,) was too 
lazy to bring it to his mouth again. (Proverbs 
xix, 24.) As the host would be surrounded 
by his dearest friends, it would be deemed a 
great mark of esteem to be allowed to dip the 
hand with him into the same dish ; hence, as 
breaking bread with one, this act became ex- 
pressive of the warmest attachment. Here 
was another distinguished favor shown by our 
Lord to Judas, but which the traitor set at 
naught in the price of the betrayal. 

Of course, this mode of eating and carving 
with the fingers shows the importance of wash- 
ing the hands both before and after meals. It 
was also customary to cleanse the hands and 
fingers, besmeared with grease, by rubbing 
them with the soft part of the bread. The 
*^ crumbs,'' or fragments, which had been so 
used, were thrown to the ground, and became 
the portion for dogs. Hence we see the es- 
teem in which the rich worldling held Lazarus, 
a poor outcast, allowed to share with dogs the 
refuse fragments of the table. And as Laza- 
rus was compelled to eat with these animals, 
so he received sympathy from them in his suf- 
ferings, which men, in their pride and selfish- 



Breaking Bread, 273 

ness, refused. (Luke xvi, 21.) It was in refer- 
ence to these discarded fragments of the table 
that the Syrophenician woman pointed her ar- 
guments for the Saviour's blessing, when ap- 
parently repulsed by him as an outcast Gen- 
tile : ^^ Truth, Lord : yet the dogs eat of the 
crumbs which fall from their master's table." 
Matt. XV, 27. 

Each guest, provided with liberal supplies 
of the rich viands, is engaged in helping him- 
self, while obsequious servants are busy in 
obeying the orders of Boaz to refill the platters 
and cups to a repletion befitting the occasion. 
We would have missed at this feast the clatter 
of plates and ringing of spoons, but might 
have observed more hearty demonstrations of 
joy and merry-making than are common with 
us on like occasions. 

Various devices were resorted to, to enhance 
the joyousness of the feast. Music, both in- 
strumental and vocal, (Isaiah v, 12 ; 2 Samuel 
xix, 35,) was always essential. The sentiment 
of the latter was characterized by commending 
the good qualities and felicities of the bride- 
groom. Dancing also held a prominent plac/s. 
(Psa. XXX, II ; Luke xv, 25.) This perform- 
ance was not entered into by the guests, but 

by professional dancers, who, like the musi- 
35 



274 Wheat from the Fields of Boaz. 

cians, were hired for the occasion. These were 
usually women, (Jer. xxxi, 4 ; Mark vi, 22,) 
sometimes children, (Luke vii, 32 ;) and though 
men at times participated, (Jer. xxxi, 13,) it 
is worthy of notice that the sexes always 
danced separately. Festive dancing was usu- 
ally performed by one, (Matt, xiv, 16,) or at 
most two, at a time, and consisted not so much 
in graceful steps, as in a pantomime perform- 
ance, representing in the form of a heroic or 
love story the various passions and feelings 
appropriate to it. This was accompanied by 
singing, and would call into exercise, not sim- 
ply the feet, but also the arms, head, eyes, 
face, and, indeed, the entire person, approach- 
ing nearer the performance of an opera than 
modern dancing. These hired dancers were 
held in on very high repute in society. 

There was also around this board a *' feast 
of reason and a flow of soul." Wit and repar- 
tee were, doubtless, as brilliant then as now, 
while elevating thought and the kindlier senti- 
ments could flow freely among the Bethlehem- 
ite farmers, even though they had not the 
books and learning of their more favored breth- 
ren of our land and day. 

Prominent in their conversation was the pro- 
posing of hard questions in the form of riddles. 



Breaking Bread. 275 

This kind of amusement seems to have had 
a more col picuous place at entertainments 
among the an.nents than with us. Even kings 
vied with each other in this pastime. Jose- 
phus tells us that Solomon sought diversion 
from regal cares by sending riddles to the king 
of Tyre, to be solved by him. And we are 
told that the queen of Sheba came to visit 
Solomon, that, among other things, she might 
** prove him with hard questions.*' i Kings 
' X, I. The words of Lamech to his wives (Gen, 
iv, 23, 24) are suppose 1 to have been spoken 
in this sense. So, too, the passages in Prov. 
XXX, 12-19; Isa. xxi, 12. 

One rule of the riddle was, that the com- 
pany incurred a forfeiture to the propounder 
if they failed to find the answer, and received a 
reward from him if they succeeded. Pleasure 
was found, on the one hanc', in perplexing the 
company by the sententious words of the en- 
igma, or, on the other, in discovering its solu- 
tion, and in turn propounding others to the host. 
Prominent among such nuptial diversions was 
the riddle of Samson, propounded to the thirty 
guests at his wedding feast. (Judges xiv, 12.) 
Samson-like, he puts himself against great 
odds. If his guests failed, each was to give 
him a change of raiment ; but if they discov- 



276 Wheat from the Fields of Boa2, 

ered the answer, he was to give one to each. 
It was thus one against thirty. In this case 
the guests seem to have entered into the so- 
lution with a desperation that ill became the 
amenities of the occasion, and the result proved 
more tragical than pleasurable. 

It is possible that we might just here find 
some profitable lessons on diversions at bridal 
feasts. It were infinitely better to employ the 
time in propounding and solving enigmas and 
riddles than in idle gossip, or in excessive eat- 
ing and drinking, or dancing. Entertainment 
for the mind is certainly worthy of more prom- 
inence than that for the heels or the palate. 
A quick perception, and clear and elevating 
thoughts in social converse, may be acquired 
without great learning, and are a power that 
one may well covet. 

Thus the wedding feast of the Bethlehemite 
goes on merrily, with music and mirth, wit 
and wisdom. Seven days and nights were oft- 
en occupied in such festivities, (Judges xiv, 12,) 
but we have only attempted to picture the 
scenes of the first day and evening. 

Ah me ! could we have attended the bridal 
feast of Persia's king, when the beautiful Es- 
ther became his bride, what a scene of earthly 
grandeur our eyes might have looked upon ! 



Breaking Bread. 2yy 

Shushan, the capital of a hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces, ablaze with torches and illumi- 
nations ; the palace halls and gardens fragrant 
with perfumes and the choicest flowers, and 
brilliant with the lights of thousands of chan- 
deliers ; the splendid hangings of white and 
green and blue tapestry ; the couches inlaid 
with gold and silver and pearls, with cushions 
covered with cloth of gold ; the floor tesselated 
with precious colored marbles, (Esther i, 6;) 
the numerous golden drinking cups, wrought 
in curious device, each different from the oth- 
er ; the king, arrayed in his vestments of gold 
and jewels, with his nobles and princes of the 
provinces before him. O, what a scene of en- 
trancing grandeur for mortal eyes to behold ! 
Yet more interesting to us is this humbler 
feast of Boaz than all the splendor of the 
Persian court, because it was nearer our plane 
of life, and was not marred by drunkenness or 
other such follies. Boaz and his friends had 
learned what Persian kings and princes had 
never acquired — self-mastery. What is all 
earthly splendor when man*s nobler nature is 
debased by strong drink ! and this we haye 
reason to fear was the case at the palace of 
Shushan. 

We take our last glance at Boaz and his 



278 Wheat from the Fields of Boa2. 

guests, as thus they are around the festive ta- 
bles. Every thing conspires to promote the 
utmost sociality. The brilliant lights, the per- 
fumed atmosphere, the uniform splendor of 
the attire of the guests, the rich viands, the 
well-filled platters and cups, the music and 
mirthfulness, and especially the one inspiring 
thought of congratulation for the bridegroom 
— all contribute to this end. In no position 
in life does heart flow to heart as at such a 
feast. 

Among the joys of the redeemed in heaven 
are those of a social character. And, perhaps, 
none of our Saviour's teachings so clearly illus- 
trate the life of the happy throng above, the 
essential qualification for admission to their so- 
ciety, and what he has done to prepare us for 
heaven, as the parable of the royal marriage 
feast. The King of kings has prepared, at in- 
finite expense, the banquet. It is a feast for 
the soul's complete satisfaction. The tables 
are spread with all that can minister to man's 
richest spiritual enjoyment ; and the provisions 
are the most ample. There is here bread 
enough for all, and yet an abundance to spare. 
The cup of each is filled to overflowing. The 
guests are the choice ones of the ages of the 
empire of God. They have assembled to cele- 



Breaking Bread. 279 

brate the marriage of the King's Son. Their 
songs are ascriptions of praise and adoration 
to him ; their converse is on themes the most 
exalting and refreshing. It is a happy and 
harmonious company ; not one note of discord 
in their songs, nor one shadow to becloud their 
joys. As the ages roll on, the throng is con- 
stantly increased by new accessions. And it 
is observed that each guest admitted is ar- 
rayed in the festive robe provided by the 
Prince, and that each has his heart attuned, 
,and his soul in sympathy with the music and 
converse of those who have preceded him. 
' Truly, some preparation must be essential 
for earth's sinful and sordid ones ere they can 
relish the spiritual repast, or enjoy the society 
and converse of the heavenly banquet. And 
who knew this better than the King himself? 
Hence, after ages of preparation, commensu- 
rate with the importance of the occasion, and 
the privileges of the guests, in the fullness of 
time messengers were sent forth. And lo ! for 
these eighteen hundred years, catching the 
notes of the invitation from the lips of their 
King, they have heralded it to all. The es- 
sence of the Gospel message is expressed in 
that one sentence first sounded forth from the 
portals of the banquet chamber, *' Come ; for 



28o Wheat from the Fields of Boaz, 

all things are now ready/' Luke xiv, 17. The 
choicest of the flock is killed ; the tables are 
spread, and the wedding garments provided. 
Have we heeded that invitation, and are we 
prepared for the society and the privileges of 
that royal banquet? 

'' And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed 
are they which are called unto the 

MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LaMB." 




INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS. 



Genesis. 
Ch. Ver. 
4 23, 24 

8 20 

9 20 
12 U 
12 10 
U 23 
18 1 



Page 

275 
131 
109 
109 
77 
139 
170 



11 

18 4 237, 225 12 
18 6 188,192,198,12 
199, 207 12 

18 6,7 24512 

18 G,7,8 17212 

18 7 211,25212 
18 8 240,248,253,10 
26010 

24 25 143 22 

24 53 213 23 

24 65 106,214 34 

25 34 258 25 

26 1 77 27 

27 4, 25 253 28 
27 19 230 30 

27 31 ■ 265 34 
23 16,17 154 34 

28 22 160 38 

29 11 109 
29 9 246 
32 15 247 
29 13 221 

37 34 169 

38 14 214 

40 16,17 199 

41 6 40 
41 47 150 
41 49 151 

41 48,56 154 

42 25 169 

43 11 254 
43 32 235 
43 33 235 
50 10 139 

36 



Exodus. 
Ver. Page 

11 154 
20 246 
1,2 33 

12 143 

3 189 
31,32 88 
5 174, 179, 181 
8 252 

15 193 
34 10, 189 
34,49 191 
39 192 
46 253 
31 258 
36 148 
29, 30 134 

16 123, 20 
22 26 

25 149 

20 259 

16 149 
23, 24 228 
22 123 
24 126 

8 107 

Leviticus. 

4 202,195,260 
5, 7 200 
11 190 

13 193 
37, 38 61 

21 188 

9 103 
19 61 
10, 14 91 

17 193 
17, 21 131 
18, 19 134 
5, 9 194 

26 202 



Leviticus. 


Ch. Ver. 


Page 


26 10 


65 


27 30, 33 


160 


27 32 


160 


Numbers. 


5 15 


186 


7 chap. 


188 


11 5 


258 


11 8 


172 


13 23 


256 


20 19 


46 


22 24 


167 


24 5, 6 


168 


28 26 


123 


Deuteronomy. 


4 19 


248 


6 19 


246, 253 


6 69 


223 


8 8 


27 


8 8,9 


125 


11 10 


47 


11 10,11 


44 


11 14 


259, 59 


14 2 


135 


14 12 


236, 275, 276 


15 14 


138 


16 9 


98 


16 12 


125 


16 4 


193 


16 3 


193 


22 10 


140 


24 6 


174, 180 


24 19 


103,119 


24 15 


92 


25 4 


140 


25 15 


151 


26 chap. 


' 130 


26 18 


135 


28 40 


232 


29 9 


61, 210 


32 2 


86 



282 Index of Scripture Texts. 



Ch, 
32 
32 



Deuteronomy. 
Ver. Page 

U 25,27,247,251 
13 255, 259 





Joshua. 


3 18 


97 


9 4 


169 




Judges. 


5 18 


166 


5 25 


248 


6 19 


188 


6 37 


137 


7 13 


187 


8 26 


107 


9 45 


48 


9 53 


179 


11 33 


167 


14 11 


224 


14 18 


54 


15 5 


101,123 


16 21 


182 




EUTH, 


1 1 


78 


1 16 


111 


1 20, 


21 102 


1 20 


224 


2 2 


103, 112 


2 3 


113,70 


24 


18, 221 


2 5 


92 


2 8 


19 


2 9 


19 


2 11 


111 


2 12 


19 


2 14 


115,116,224, 




246, 261 


2 16 


18 


2 17 


110,117 


2 20 


18 


3 7 


136 


3 8 


20 


3 11 


214 


3 15 


20, 109, 148, 




150 


47 


198, 211 



I. Samuel. 
5 266 

36 197 

13 119,120 

13 265 

24 267 



I. Samuel. 


Ch. Ver. 


Page 


12 17 


95 


13 20 


51 


14 14 


55 


16 11,13 


33 


17 17 


117 


18 17,18 


252 


20 5 


236 


21 4,6 


195 


22 2 


104 


25 6 


221 


25 13 


104 


25 18 117,197,256, 


25 41 


227 


28 24 


253 


11. Samuel. 


1 21 


83 


4 6 


158 


6 6 


139 


8 2 


226 


9 7 


208 


13 6,8,10 


195 


13 8 


198 


14 2 


233 


16 1 


256 


17 18,19 


158 


17 28 


258,128 


19 9 


200 


19 35 


273 


23 13 


96 


24 16 


139 


24 22 


111,143 


I. Kings. 


1 9 


252 


4 22 


185,188 


4 23 


252 


4 28 


26,27 


5 11 


148 


10 1 


275 


12 4 


161 


12 18 


162 


10 21,27 


166 


17 11 


197 


17 12 


185 


17 13 


260 


18 43 


83 


19 6 


200 


19 19 


33,55 


21 27 


169 



II* Kings. 

Ch. Ver. Page 

3 11 226, 227 

4 10 236 
4 18 96 
4 29 221 
4 38, 39 258 
4 42 186 
6 25 77,148 

6 29 78 

7 1 188 

7 16 186 
13 7 142,144 
17 12 195 

20 13 232 
30 13 229 

I. Chronicles. 

1 40 252 
12 40 256, 258 
12 42 60 

21 16 169 
21 20 137 

23 29 200 

II. Chronicles. 

2 10 26, 166, 186 
32 28 154 

Nehemiah. 

3 11 203 

8 10 266 

12 38 203 

13 15,19 164 

Esther. 

1 6 237, 277 

1 7 265 

1 9,12 224 

7 8 237 

9 19,22 266 

Job. 

1 4 224 

4 8 68 

5 26 101,123 

6 6 246 

7 2 48 
9 22 101 

16 15 169 

24 10 103 
24 24 98 
29 Q 29,249 
37 17 79 
41 24 174 



Index of Scripture Texts. 283 



Psalms. 

Ch. Ver. Page 

1 4 146 

21 9 226 
23 5 230,228,232,267 

30 11 273 

41 9 209 

42 4 128 
45 7 233 
45 8 230, 233 
45 7, 8 ' 232 
45 13,14 213 
45 14,16 224 
50 10 135 
61 4 68 
61 8 58 
60 8 226 
65 94 
65 9,10 82 
65 10,13 48 
75 7,8 267 
80 5 208 

80 8, 10 257 

81 16 25,27,255 

103 15,16 79 

104 15 230, 233 
116 13 265 
119 103 255 
122 1 128 
122 2 128 
122 4 128 

126 6 64, 67, 120 

127 2 208 
133 3 84 
144 7, 13 159 



Proverbs. 



3 10 

3 9,10 

4 17 
13 



26 

2 

1 



11 18 

15 3 
15^ 17 

16 11 
16 33 
ir 19 
19 24 



261 
159 
208 
114 
156 
197 
261 
161 
67 
163 
258 
149 
110 
176 
272 



Proverbs. 

Ch. Ver. Page 

20 4 68, 55 

20 17 208 

23 3 253 

23 29,30 261 

23 30 262 

24 30 44 

25 6,7 241 
25 20 115 
25 21 208 
27 9 

27 22 173 

30 12, 19 275 

30 33 251 

31 15 177 
31 16 71 
31 19 172 
37 27 247 

EOCLESIASTES. 

3 2 70 

7 1 229 

11 1 47 

11 4 60 
9 8 

12 4 177, 223 

Song of Solomon. 



1 5 

2 11 

2 13 

3 11 

4 11 

5 7 

7 1 

8 2 



170 
94 
266 
212, 216 
256 
109 
106 
260 



ISATAH. 



2 4 

3 18,23 

3 24 

4 13 

5 2 

2,4 

11 

12 

18 

22 

5 ' 

22 

3 

11 8 



62 
107 
169 
144 

41 
267 
262 
273 
119,120 
261 

68 
108 

94 
143 



Is 


AIAH. 


Ch. Ver. 


Page 


16 9,10 


94 


17 5 


99 


18 4 


96 


21 12 


275 


28 24 


55 


28 27, 28 


132 


32 20 


47 


33 12 


44 


35 1 


30,86 


41 15 


141,144 


41 16 


145 


47 2 


181 


50 3 


170 


54 16 


203 


68 11 


105 


60 16 


247 


63 3 


190 


Jereml&s. 


2 32 


218 


3 3 


60 


43 


44,66 


5 24 


94,119 


7 36 


215 


8 13 


265 


8 20 


91 


13 22 


106 


23 28 


146 


25 10, 11 


177 


31 4 


274 


31 13 


274 


32 9 


71 


33 11 


215, 224 


87 21 


197, 199, 203 


41 1 


209 


41 8 


167 


50 16 


98 


51 33 


144 


62 21 


149 


Lamentations. 


3 40 


57 


4 8 


77 


5 4 


46 


5 10 


^ 206 


6 12, 13 


' 181 


6 13 


174 


EZEKIEL. 


4 9 


185,268 


4 11 


160 


4 12 


. 185 



284 Index of Scripture Texts. 





EZEKIEL. 




4 13 




141 


Matthew. 




Ch. Ver 




Page 


6 10, 11 




152 


Ch. Ver. 


Page 


4 15 




204 


6 15 




232 


22 12 


233 


7 18 




169 


7 1 




256 


23 12 


241 


13 19 




186 


Nahuk- 




23 23 


258 


16 10 




106 


Ch. Ver. 




Page 


24 41 


178 


16 13 




188 


1 10 




44 


25 1,8 


216 


17 10 

18 4 




79 
135 


Habakkuk. 

^19 


144 
260 


25 11 
25 14, 30 


218 
135 


20 6 
23 41 




27 
237 


1^ 

3 17,18 




25 40 

26 7 


105 
224 


24 4,5 




253 


Haggai. 




26 26,27 


266 


27 17 


167, 254 


1 10 




84 


26 39 


267 


45 10 




151 


Zechakiah. 




Mark. 






Daniel. 




8 12 




83 


1 7 


220 


1 12 


HOSEA. 


258 


Matthew. 





1 18-19 
4 28 


34 

85 


6 14 

7 4 




96 
203 


2 2 

3 4 
3 10 

3 12 

4 1 
4 3 
4 21 


00 

255 
on OA 


6 22 

7 6,13 


274 
226 


7 4,6 
747 
7 8 
9 10 
10 12 

13 3 

14 5 


191 


,199 
206 
200 
256 
56 
146 
83 


146 


,147 

206 

196 

34 


14 14,15 

Luke. 

2 44 

3 13 


222 

126 
162 


Joel. 


5 46 

6 11 
6 30 




163 
133 
206 


3 17 
5 2 
5 39 


147 

34 

261 


1 12 


255 
157 
81 
81 
256 
81 
52 
98 


7 9 
9 10 




196 

237 


7 38 
7 32 


220 

274 


1 17 

2 7 
2 11 
2 22 

2 25 

3 10 
3 13 




9 11 




208 


7 38 


230 




9 17 


114, 26l| 


7 38 


242 




9 37 




91 


7 44,45 221 


,226 




12 4 




195 


7 38,46 


228 




13 3,4,5,7,8 




64 


9 16 


265 




13 24, 27, 37 
13 




61 

71 


9 62 
10 2 


52 
92 




Amos. 




13 28 




72 


10 4 


222 


1 3 




142 


13 28,30 




74 


11 3,6 


207 


2 13 


119 


,120 


13 31 




258 


115' 


197 


4 9 




80 


13 31 




148 


11 42 


258 


4 11 




203 


13 30 




100 


12 18 


158 


6 4 


237, 253 


13 33 189,191,194 


12 20 


159 


8 1 




:iOD 


14 16 




274 


12 40 


179 


8 5 


152 


,166 


15 27 




273 


12 54 


83 


8 6 




107 


15 36 


253 


,265 


12 55 


79 


9 9 




146 


16 6 




193 


13 21 


149 


9 13 


Jonah. 


261 


18 6 


175, 180 


13 21 


194 






18 17 




163 


13 25 


218 


1 10 




44 


20 1-8 


92,48 


14 9, 10 


241 




MiOAH. 




22 3,4 




212 


14 16 


218 


4 3 




52 


22 4 




211 


14 17 


280 


4 4 




25 


22 11 




234 


14 35 


47 



Index of Scripture Texts. 285 



Luke. 

Ch. Ver. 
15 20 
15 23 

15 25 

16 21 
16 22,23 
16 22 
19 8 

22 11,12 
22 19 
24 30,42 

John. 

1 18 

2 3 
2 3 
2 6 
2 8,9 
2 10 

9 

14 

36 



35 
2 
5 
12 3 

12 24 

13 5 
13 18 
13 26 

13 25,26 
13 26 



Page 

221 
211,206 
223, 273 
273 
242 
243 
162 
222 
209 
265 

243 
224 
261 
223 
239 
262 
208 
34 
66 
253 
208 
237 
232, 229 
242 
61 
220 
209 
246 
243 
267 



Ch. Ver. 
13 45 

15 1,6 

16 33 

18 18 

19 29 
19 30 
21 9 



John. 



Page 

227 
257 
143 
203 
261 
116 
253 



Acts. 



2 5 


128 


2 42 


264 


12 20 


67 


14 22 


143 


18 21 


129 


20 9 


223 


20 16 


209 


Romans. 




5 3 


144 


I. Corinthian 


s. 


3 6 


eQ 


5 6,7 


194 


6 20 


135 


7 23 


135 


9 9,10,12 


141 


11 5 


110 


11 5-10 


214 


15 36 


68 


Galatians. 





6 7 



Ephesians. 



I. Thessalonians. 


Ch. Ver. 


Paee 


2 9 


170 


I. Timothy. 




2 9 


107 


5 10 


227 


Titus. 




2 4 


135 


Hebrews. 




6 '8 


44 


7 2,6 


160 


8 3 


36 


11 12 


128 


James. 




5 4 


93 


5 7 


70 


I. Peter. 




1 23 


62 


2 9 


135 


2 2 


246 


3 4 


107 


3 4 


214 


II. Peter. 




2 1 


135 


Revelation. 




6 11 


233 


6 12 


170 


7 14 


144 


18 13 


188 


18 22 


178 


19 8 


213 


21 2 


214 



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